The Weight of the Years
by ytodd
Summary: Judy never got into the ZPD. She never fulfilled her dreams. Twenty years, a marriage and two kits later, she's taking a new step into a new life.
1. Broken Heart

_New story, you guys._

 _I hope you will enjoy it._

 _More notes at the end of the chapter._

* * *

 **Prologue - Broken Hearts**

Judy had just left her shower and was drying herself with her towel. She knew that without a fur-dryer, there was no way the job would be thorough, but that would have to be enough, as she had done without it for almost 46 years.

She stepped in front of her stand-mirror to comb her fur and take a look at herself.

It had been years since she had stopped recognizing her own body. To her lean and fit body, the years had added matronly curves that most female bunny would have been glad to possess.

"I look like my mom." She muttered under her breath. Saying the words out loud made her realize the truth behind them.

This was a new day, her new day. Years later, she had found the strength to change, to try something else. All she had to do was to get through with the first step of her plan. It was going to be hard, and probably painful, but she refused to live the rest of her life like this. Numb, passive. Waiting for a life that would never come to her.

Clenching her teeth, she looked away from her reflection and clothed herself.

Getting back to her room, she opened the chest of drawers and looked under a set of clothes. The large envelope was where she had left it, not that it surprised her. She took it, as well as her precious carrot pen, and got downstairs.

She could hear as she stepped toward the kitchen, the noise of the coffee being poured into a mug. A male bunny was sitting at the kitchen table. Though barely in his fifties, his greying hair and square glasses gave him a venerable look. As he saw his wife enter the kitchen, he gave her a loving smile before pouring her a mug too.

"Not usual for you to get up this late, Jude." He said as a greeting.

The doe took the mug and dropped three sugar cubes inside it. It was one last move, one last step. Part of her thought she could have eased him into it, get him used to the idea somehow, but those were just excuses to back down. Better to rip the band-aid right now. She drew a breath and took the plunge.

Judy slid the envelope she had been hiding behind her back toward her husband before sitting down.

"What's this ?"

She closed her eyes. She was about to say the five words she had dreamt of saying for years, and she knew they were going to hurt him more anything she had ever done.

"These are divorce papers, Ethan."

As he was sipping his coffee, the five words had frozen him in place. He dropped his mug, and it bounced on the table once, before falling and shattering in a thousand pieces as it collided with the floor.

"What ?" Came his distraught voice.

Judy had crossed her fingers and was looking to the side, not ready to cross his gaze yet. "These are divorce papers."

"What- How- Why ?"

"Because..." This was hard. This was so hard. But she had to say the words. "Because this was never the life I wanted."

The buck stared at her in disbelief. He felt like he was in a bad dream. It didn't make any sense. It couldn't be happening.

"But- But-"

"I'm sorry, Ethan."

"Why ?" He asked again, his voice breaking.

"Because Evan and Katie both left for college and they won't need me as much as before. I didn't want them being torn between us."

The buck let go of the papers and let his paw slid from the table to his side. They had been married for about twenty years and he knew that cold and resolute town. It was the same she had used when she had refused to have more than one litter, the one she had used when she had refused to move in to his family's land.

But he couldn't yield.

"No." The buck took down his glasses and wiped them, trying to calm the tremor in his paw. "You can't do that."

"Yes. Yes I can. You weren't a-"

A fist slammed on the table, silencing her. Ethan was by no mean a violent mammal. In fact, the reason why she had developed feelings for the plant biologist in the first place was his gentle and kind nature. "You're going to throw all this away ? What we've built together, our family ? And what, take half of what I have, the house, the money ? How can you do that to me ? To us ?"

The tears that were welling his eyes dented her heart. She hated that she was hurting him. She hated herself in that moment, and little part of her wished she could go back and erase the last five minutes. But another part of her screamed, roared her longing to be free.

"I'm doing this for myself, Ethan. I'm not taking anything. If you look at the papers, you'll see that I'm not asking for anything. No money, no pension, no house. No nothing." Besides, if someone would have to pay for a pension it would be her. The kids would legally stay with him. She refused to make them part of the fight that could ensue.

The buck trudged through the paper and realised that she was telling the truth. "Is it something I did ? Is it something I said ? We can still salvage this, please, let me try-"

She raised her paw. "I don't want to salvage this. You weren't a bad husband, but I know I was never a good wife."

Getting up, he rounded the table with wobbly steps, and grabbed her paws. "Please let's talk about this. Tell me what you want ! Please ?" He sniffled, trying to find her eyes.

Any other mammal would have found that display of emotion pathetic. Judy, on the other hand, was fighting to not let it break her resolve. "There is nothing else that I want. I wish, I really wish that I could do this without breaking your heart. I wish I loved you as much as you deserve. I wish that I could take the last twenty years back and let you find the real doe of your life, not the one that would let-." She choked on the rising tears and drew them back. "Not the one that would let time eat her away until she could find the courage to leave."

"Judy-" He pleaded, but she cut him.

"Ethan, do you know what my parents said about dreams ? It's great to have them, as long as you don't believe about them too much. I thought I had given up, but there was this little ember, this little part of me that never stopped believing in a better life."

It was like a chain had broken. Everything she had held back for years was coming loose and pouring out of her. It was liberating, but it was also unfair to him and she knew it. But they had shared half of their lives together, and if she was going to leave, he had a right to know. Knowing was better in the long run.

"And I know, I know that it's way too late to become a police officer, but it's not too late to become something else. I never wanted to be a housewife, I never wanted to settle… But do you know how it feel to have your dream being crushed in front of your own eyes ? To-"

"Yes. Yes I do." His ears had dropped, and he was vainly trying to wipe away the tears from his eyes. She too had started crying. She knew she was hurting him, but even then, it was something she had to do.

A silence lingered between them.

"Ethan, I know this is unfair to you. But this life… It's unfair to me. I don't want it, I never wanted it. I love our children, I thinks they are the best things that I have ever done. But us… I settled, Ethan. I chose this life because I thought I could never have anything better. And it took me years to realise it was stupid, and even longer to be ready to take a new step. I'm sorry."

She was out of breath at the end of her speech. Seeing the state she was putting him in, she felt like a monster. At least, there was no way to come back from it. The only way remaining was forward.

"Did you ever love me ?" He asked suddenly.

Judy fell mute. It was a fair question. "Yes. I did. I do, still. But it's not enough anymore. I thought I could delude myself into making my feelings for you enough to stay, to forget how miserable I was. These feelings, I'll always keep them, I'll always cherish them…"

"Please don't go." He pleaded again. "Please."

"I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Don't leave me alone." He pressed her paws in his with despair. "You're the love of my life."

"But you're not mine." She muttered.

She could pinpoint the exact moment Ethan's heart broke. He let her paw slip from his, and had to hold himself to the table, as he shrivelled to the floor, before starting to sob uncontrollably.

* * *

 _Aaaand that was a short one. At first, this one and the next were supposed to come out together, but I think it made more of an impact on its own. Don't worry, the ones following will be longer._

 _The idea for this came as the same time as "Anything for Us", and it was in fact supposed to be a one-off too. Then I screwed up and wrote twenty pages in a row._

 _This story won't be that long, but expect 6 to 7 chapters total._


	2. A New Beginning

_**Jamdea** : Actually, I said it was going to be around 7 chapters long in the end notes. Glad you liked the first chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - A New Beginning**

"Wow, you didn't g-g-go easy on'im."

Gideon was at the wheel. He had been driving for a few minutes, just enough for Judy to tell him everything.

"I had to call his mom to come and take care of him. I was actually afraid he was going to do something stupid once I was away"

"Did ya tell her what ha-ha-happened ?"

The bunny bit her lips. "Of course not. Why do you think I turned off my phone as soon as we left ?"

The pudgy vulpine nodded. Knowing Judy's family, it was the right call.

"I had to rip off the band-aid. Do you think I was wrong ?" She asked. "Do you think I should have waited a couple more years, ease him into it ?"

"Jude, as yer best friend, I think ya should have d-d-dun dis way sooner. If not for yer kids, I mean."

The bunny shot a smile to the fox. If a couple dozen years sooner, someone had told them they would become this close, she would have laughed in their face. They had started getting closer during their highschool years, when he had begun to clean his act up.

The reformed bully had turned into one of the most successful business owner of the tri-burrows, his baking company's name was known by almost everyone, and it was supplying the best restaurants of Zootopia.

The bunny looked at the country through the truck's window. She knew the hills and woods like the back of her paw. It was strange to think she was leaving for good. Well, she'd still go back to visit her family sometimes. But not before long.

"Whatchu gonna do now ? Ya sure ya want to go to the t-t-train station ?"

The bunny let her gaze wander on the road. "I don't think I can face my family right now. So yeah, train station it is."

"I could house ya a couple o'days. Hester'd be delighted to have ya."

That shook her resolve a bit. The truth was, she was scared. She was fourty-six, and maybe it was crazy to go ahead with that idea at her age. But she wasn't going to back down. She had given up once, albeit against her own wishes, and it had cost her the best years of her life.

"I'm happy for ya." He said, out of the blue, breaking the silence that had lingered between them. "Ya know, after the announcement 'bout the m-m-mammal inclusion initiative, ya just… T'wos like yer fire had b-b-burnt out. Wos' heart-breakin' seein' ya mopin'round all day."

The bunny was swinging her feet under the bench. "To be honest, this time of my life is really hazy. I know I stopped eating for a week or so. Mom and dad didn't know what to do… I know you were there…" She trailed off.

"I remember the first thing ya accepted to eat again was my c-c-carrot-cake. Wosn't even dat' good. Den ya started bein' better. Few months later, ya started datin' Ethan. I always liked 'dat fellow. Felt like the kinda guy that woulda been cheerin' for ya if ya got into the ZPD."

Judy nodded in agreement.

"I always admired ya, 'cuz you had 'dis goal set up, and ya were just workin' toward it. Ya never gave up, ya never got tired. And dis… I mean, I'm shure this savage mammal situation, from a few years back… If ya had been a cop, ya'd crack the c-c-case wide open even before it all went to crap."

Judy giggled. "It's nice of you to say that, but given the timing I would have been an inexperienced rookie. I'm not even sure they'd let me do anything else than giving parking tickets for the first few weeks..."

Gideon snorted. "Tha' would've been their mistake. Ya'd've been a fantastic cop. It's their loss that they refused small mammals. Well, at least this got resolved. By a f-f-fox of all things. Can y'a imagine 'dat ?"

"Believe it or not, yes, I can imagine that." She answered. "You opened my eyes on that."

"Ya'givin me t-t-to much credit." He blushed.

"No, I'm really not." She patted his arm.

He glanced at her and smiled warmly. "It's back, you know ? The fire."

"I actually feel alive for the first time in… Forever." She said truthfully.

He turned to look at her again, taking advantage of one of the few stretches of straight road in the tri-burrows. "Yeah, It's right 'der. In those- Heh..."

"What ?"

He turned back to face the road with a blush. "The eyes. One of all da' reasons I had a crush on ya in highschool."

Her ears perked up. "You had a crush on me ? In highschool ?"

"Yeah… I wos startin' to realise I wos bein' a major j-j-jerk. I realised if a stupid bunny could 'ave big dream, I could too, clever as I wos'. Then I started realisin' how fantastic ya were, too… And 'den… Well, I think it's why I was so mean to you all these years. Travis actually made fun of me fer it fer months. Still likes to remind me."

"So that's why you turned your act around." She said pensively. "I thought you simply had realised the error of your way."

"Yeah, that too. Ya still busted my tail, though. Especially when I had to retake sophomore year… For the second time."

She shrugged, the corner of a smile on her face. "Someone had to keep you on the straight and narrow."

The fox chuckled. "Heh, I got ta hang out wid' ya, so it balanced things out. Can't believe no one c-c-could see how taken I wos wid' ya at the time. Maybe 'dey never thought it could happen." He snorted. "A fox'n' a bunny, what a st-"

"Missed opportunity." She blurted, before turning toward the windows and playing nervously with her left ear.

The van swerve on the uneven road, and the fox almost sent it careening in a ditch.

"Wot ?"

The bunny sighed. "I guess I can admit it now. Gideon, I too had a crush on you in highschool too."

"Ya pullin' mah leg."

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Hah, tha's the best of 'da year. Judy on duty, terror of bullies, top of her class, crushin' on the bully in chief." He grinned.

"You mean, the cool reformed criminal, turned nicest guy in town… You had a lot going for you when we graduated."

Gideon was blushing hard now, and she couldn't say she wasn't enjoying putting him on the grill, for old time's sake. "Careful. If ya k-k-keep praisin' me, ah' might get used to it." He said, trying to defuse the discussion.

"But I'm saying the truth. Half our class wanted to ask you to prom. I did too."

"Why didn't ya' ?"

She shrugged. "Hester had told me she was interested."

"Ya stepped down for her ?"

"Never thought you'd say yes, and I didn't want to put you on the spot. Besides, given the direction my life was taking, or was supposed to take, I didn't want to tangle myself in a relationship that not only my parents wouldn't approve of, but that I'd also have to break up when I left for the ZPD. It all worked out for you didn't it ? Loving wife, couple of kits, big company. It wasn't a loss."

The fox nodded in agreement. True, it wasn't a loss. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what their lives would have been if he had built up the courage to ask her to prom that fateful year. Maybe he could have given her the life Ethan hadn't been able to. Maybe it would be him that would have been dumped, his heart broken, while she would be in another car, riding away toward a new future. They'd never know.

"Nah, I wouldn't trade Hester for the world." He said, meaning it. In the years they had spent getting to know each other, they had turned into best friends, but Hester, the kids… They were his life.

"Still haven't t-t-told me whatchu gon' do now, though."

The bunny took out a crumpled paper from her back pocket. It was a favourable response to a job application dating from a few months back. She had obtained that they would keep it vacant until she could arrive. "I have a job as an intendant and ranger in the Meadowland's Forest Park."

"The Meadowlands have forests ?"

"In the north, yeah. They go up to the polar mountain chains. There are rivers, and everything."

Gideon had a pout of approval. "That ain't half-bad. How d-d-did ya get 'dis ? Ya have the qualifications ?"

"You mean, aside from the years I spent studying law, twenty-years as the head of the local bun-scouts troop, as well as years of volunteering to the firewatch ? Yeah, I think I have the qualifications." She prodded her belly. "I admit, I let myself go, but I blame the lifetime discount at your bakery."

"Not feelin' guilty in da least." He smiled.

"Well you should. I look-"

The fox gave her a side glance. "As cute as ever."

Judy blushed again. As she noticed the sly grin her fox friend was wearing, she gave him the shoulder punch he was expecting. "Careful there with the c-word. You already filled your quota this month."

"Just t-t-taking a headstart fer the next one."

...

"Yer shure ya gon' be okay out there ?" The fox had his hands in his pocket, while dancing nervously from one foot to the other.

"I'll be fine Gid'." She took her large suitcase out of his truck and set it on its wheels, before making her way toward the train station. "It wouldn't be the first time I left bunny-burrow."

"Yeah, but not for 'dat long."

"You mean for good ?"

The fox nodded. "Sounds so sad when ya say it like 'dat."

They had finally reached the platform, and Judy let herself fall on one of the bench, the fox imitating her.

"I hope I'm not making a mistake..." She sighed to herself. And paw place itself on her shoulder.

"Everythin's gonna go fine. D-d-don't worry."

An artificial voice suddenly cut the conversation. "The train to Zootopia will make a five minute stop at platform B. Please stay behind the safety line."

The train could already be seen and Judy stood up from her seat. "I guess this is it."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Judy turned her gaze toward the train station's exit. "I feel like I'm fleeing. I've haven't said good bye to anyone. Not even to my family."

"I'll do it for ya. 'Sides, yer not leavin' forever." Stated the fox, before adding with worry. "Are ya ?"

"I'll come back to visit. Will you keep an eye on Ethan for me ?"

The fox nodded. "Anytin' for my best friend." He then looked away with a sniffle.

"Oh, Gid' don't cry."

"Can't help it Jude."

Her nose twitched. She scratched her elbow, feeling the tears welling in her eyes.

"Bunny-burrow's gonna f-f-feel empty wid'out ya in it." He articulated, almost choking on his words.

"I'm sorry." She said meekly, her throat tightened with sadness.

She was suddenly pulled into a big warm hug by the larger fox. She buried her face in his chest and felt his muzzle settle itself between her ears. "I'm going to miss you so much, Judy."

"I'm going to miss you too."

"Please mind the gap between the train and the platform." Came the artificial voice as the train stopped at the train station.

"This is too soon." She articulated between two sobs. "I'm not ready."

"Yeah, you are." Answered the fox. "Ya've been ready yer whole life."

She felt herself being lifted up, and heard the suitcase wheel on the uneven concrete ground. Gideon knew the few mammals that were getting down were staring, and that some of them had recognized them, but he didn't care.

He set her down in front of the open doors and, his tears still pouring out, he beamed at her. "Yer Judy frickin' Hopps. Ya can do anytin'."

* * *

 _I will give you the feels, or I will die trying._


	3. Train of Thoughts

_**Sapperjoe85** : There will be a lot of flashbacks throughout the stories to fill in the blank. It's a bit hard to not rely heavily on them, but I'd rather do that than having a character just tell the story. As for who resolved the NightHowler case... It's something you will have to discover._

 _ **Altair1812** : I have now lost the ability to go through door designed for humans thanks to my massively inflated head. Thank you for the compliment :)_

 _ **Guest 1** : Well, since it is and AU, I decided to push it a bit more by giving her a small crush on him. That wasn't very useful to the story, but I like to throw some what if's into the mix. _  
_I have NO IDEA why you think Nick would have been the one to crack the small mammal case. As for him making it into the ZPD... Nah, not saying anything. You'll just have to read. As for him being a hero of hers, that's pretty likely._

 _ **Guest 2** : Thanks for the compliments. As for it not being WildeHopps, I haven't really decided yet, but it probably won't be the focal point of the story either way. This isn't what I want to make it all about._  
 _And MOAR is coming, don't worry :)_

 _Next chapter is going to be more centered on Judy's background, so please bear with me._

 _This chapter's title has been brought to you by Ytodd's Shitty Puns and Trashy Humour._

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Train of Thoughts**

The bunny was looking through the train window, the scenery slowly changing as Zootopia got closer and closer.

Her tears had ended up drying and she rubbed her eyes. She felt like she had cried out twenty years of swallowed tears, and was glad no one had approached her to ask what was happening. She wouldn't have been able to talk about it at the moment.

She turned on the phone she had left off on purpose, and as she had expected, it started beeping like it was possessed. She quickly cut off the sound and looked around. A few mammals were staring at her with perplexity. What was that bunny doing that was putting her phone in that state ?

356 furbook notifications, 258 text messages, 178 unread e-mail, and 85 missed calls from various callers. And all of these numbers kept climbing, news went fast in bunny-burrow. Her phone froze, artefacts appearing on the screen. It would be as useful as a brick for the next few hours. Or days.

She settled back on her seat and let her gaze follow the horizon line, making her drowsy. If everything went according to plan, she'd be in Zootopia in less than two hours.

* * *

 _"...And sadly for the small mammal population, at eighteen voices against fourteen, the inclusion mammal initiative has been disapproved. This was Peter Moosebridge and Fabienne Growley, for ZNN."_

 _The sound of broken ceramic echoed in the kitchen._

 _The whole room had turned toward the sound, and were now staring at a distraught twenty-one year old Judy. Staring at the TV screen in disbelief, she hadn't even noticed she had let go of her beverage._

 _"No." Her lips curled and her nose started twitching. "No !" She shouted, despair creeping in her voice._

 _"Oh honey… " Began Bonnie._

 _They looked at each other, and even though Judy could tell her mother was sad for her, there was a faint glint of relief hidden in her eyes that wanted to make her scream._

 _She realised everyone was looking at her, as her tears started to well up. She didn't want to hear the comments that were likely to follow. She didn't want to hear that it was a good thing, that she wouldn't have had a chance anyway, that it was for the best. Turning around, she started running toward the exit. By the time she reached the door, she was already crying._

* * *

Her dosing was cut short by loud trap music. A young coyote, wearing a tracksuit, and every element of what could be defined as a "gangsta" outfit (complete with a beany over a cap, and everything.) had gotten into the train at the previous stop and was now making his way in the train car, with absolutely no regard for anyone else.

Every single mammal in the car was staring at him disapprovingly, but no-one moved. To the other voyager's disappointment, he slopped down on one of the seat, and started moving his head in rhythm with what could barely be described as music. The bunny could hear the veiled comment that were being made, but even then, no one seemed like they were about to do a thing.

She sighed, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to take it for the remainder of the trip and made her way toward him. She could feel the stares on her as she approached the oblivious canid.

"Is she crazy ?"

"I hope she's not going to do what I think she's going to do."

"Does she want to get hurt ?"

If they were so worried about her safety, maybe one of them would move and act in her stead, but the bystander effect was strong, and she knew there was little chance someone would actually do anything.

She stopped in front of the coyote and took a non-threatening stance.

"Ahem, excuse me ?" She asked. He didn't even register her presence. "Excuse me ?" She asked again louder. The Coyote blinked and looked around him. "Down there."

He looked down at the matronly bunny, and lifted a brow. "What do you want ?" He asked with a hint of hostility.

"Could you please turn off you music, or put on some earplugs ?"

A dismissive grin appeared on his face. "And why would I do that ?"

"Common courtesy. You're bothering everyone else." She said in a neutral tone waving at the rest of the car.

"Not my problem." He snorted. "Scram, bunny." He snapped her fangs at her and settled back on his seat with his head back, the matter resolved. The fang snap always made the runts scamper.

Judy clench her teeth and squinted at him. If someone were to take a really close look, they would have been able to spot the smoke coming out of her ears.

The coyote suddenly felt something land on his lap and when he looked at what it was, he could see a really pissed off bunny with her fists on her hips, and a piercing glare riveted tp his eyes. "Now listen to me young man, you are going to turn off your music and apologise." An accusing finger shot up and stopped a mere millimetre from his snout. "Or I swear on both of my children, I'm going to drive the truckfull of spanking your parents failed to deliver, right into your back alley."

The only thing that could be hear in the car was the music coming out of the coyote's phone. No one dared to say a word, expecting the crazy bunny to be punted away. And any other bunny, the coyote would have punted away, but this one… Something was burning in her eyes. Resolve, will, certitude. Every instinct told him it was a very bad idea to further anger the frightening bunny.

"Yes ma'am." He muttered, while trying to avoid her gaze, his thumb tapping his phone screen. The music stopped.

"And ?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

She beamed at him. "Good." She hopped down and made her way back to her seat. "Judy on duty, terror of bullies, still gots it." She said to herself, discreetly pumping her arm.

As she settle back on her own seat, an announcement was heard. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, this train will be delayed for several minutes at our next stop, Podunk's train station. Please forgive us for the inconvenience."

There was a general sigh of annoyance in the train car. Well, it wasn't tragic, she was supposed to get where she was headed at lunch, and it was only 9AM. A few minutes more on her trip would mean a few minutes less to wait at the rendez-vous point.

She felt like she had spent her life waiting anyway, what were a few more minutes ?

As she put on her earbuds, a deep feeling of loneliness washed over her. She was slowly starting to realise how many bridges were burning behind her. Bridges she had spent a lifetime building.

* * *

 _"So, what did you want to talk about ?" Judy was seating in their usual booth, sipping tea. In front of her, Ethan, the glass wearing buck she had been dating for the last six months was nervously playing with his fingers. She liked him, years later she would realise she had lied herself into believing she loved him. She would realise she had used him to try (and fail) to erase the last pieces of her dreams._

 _"Well… Do you know why I approached you to begin with ?"_

 _Judy lifted a brow. "We met through Gideon, you were the one that tutored him in science in highschool. That was very nice of you actually." Ethan was one of the fist bunny that had been comfortable around the fox that would become her best friend. She would have never accepted to date someone that wouldn't respect him. In a strange way, the fox had become a sort of benchmark for dating material._

 _"Yes… No, it wasn't because of that… I know you don't like to talk about that time, but you were- you are Judy Frickin' Hopps."_

 _The nickname of her highschool years was a bit hard to hear. It was the one they had given her when she had shown she could do anything she wanted. And it was painful reminder of the event that had made it a lie. The disapproval of the Small Mammal Initiative._

 _"Anyway, I'm not sure you noticed it, but a lot of us bunny started to follow our own dreams because of you. Before you, most of us, if not all, would have ended up as farmers. And look at me, I have a degree in biology. I know it might seem bizarre to you, but I feel like I owe a bit of that to you. A lot of us do."_

 _Judy meekly smiled at him. She was glad her example had let others to make a good life for themselves, but she couldn't shake off the pang of jealousy that had installed itself in her chest._

 _"You are the most fantastic doe I've ever met."_

 _"I think you're a fantastic buck too Ethan." She said, meaning every word. " But what are you getting at ?"_

 _The buck drew a deep breath, and started fiddling with something in his pocket. "You already made my life better twice, by being an example, and then by becoming my girlfriend. I'm asking you to make it better a third time." He took out a small velvet box and slid it toward her as he opened it. "Judith Laverne Hopps, I love you, will you marry me ?"_

* * *

She was pulled from her reveries when the train started again. She checked the time, and she noticed that a full hour had passed. Given how close they were to Zootopia now, she doubted she'd be late. Then she noticed the train wasn't going at full speed. In fact, she was pretty sure that if she were on a bike next to it, she would easily be able to outpace it.

"Ladies and gentlemammals, we're sorry to announce that there was an accident at the Oasis Hotel stop. The tracks are currently blocked by debris, as well at the next two trains. Given our reports, it will take at least four hours for the way to be fully cleared."

A collective groan resonated in the train car and Judy gritted her teeth. Now she knew she was going to be late. She needed to call to tell her future boss of her tardiness, but her phone was still bricked, at least until she got another sim card which meant she would have to borrow a phone. The bunny looked around the car anxiously. Three mooses, a bear, a wolf, a pair of rhino, and a family of mice. And the coyote. Of course, all rabbit had left the train in Podunk. So, either she'd have to use a phone as big as her, or one smaller than her pinky. Alternatively, she could ask the coyote she had just scolded an hour ago.

Sighing in front of her misfortune, she hopped down from her seat and made her way back to the kid. "Excuse me ?"

The coyote almost jumped and gave her a wary look. "Yes ma'am ?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm having phone problems, and yours is pretty much the only one I could use given my size." She was expecting him to dismiss her. After all, he had no obligation to lend her anything.

The coyote, for his part, was astonished by the bunny. No one in her size had ever dared to scold him, and she was now asking him a favour, without a hint of fear or contempt. "Uh, sure. But make it short."

"Thanks !"

He unlocked his phone and gave it to her. She took out a crumpled paper from her back pocket and quickly dialed a number written on it. It rang a couple of times before it was answered.

"Yeah ?" Came a deep voice that she didn't recognize.

"Excuse me, is this mister Ramowitz ?" She asked.

"Nah, the fu- ram retired two months ago. Wha'd'ya want ?"

The bunny gaped before shaking her head. The ram that had recruited her had retired ? Merely a few weeks after he had hired her ? Why hadn't she been told ? "I was calling you about the job-"

"Oh, yer the new ranger he hired ? Actually, tha's good yer callin', we're actually in a bit of a pickle about… Well, you."

She felt a weight fall in her stomach. Arthur Ramowitz wasn't working at the Meadowland's Park Department anymore, they had a problem with her… Were they about to void her working contract ?

"We won't be able to pick ya up before..." She heard a voice in the background. "5PM. Our shit truck is bein' a bit moody."

Judy sighed in relief. "Oh."

"Sorry 'bout that."

Judy waved dismissively. "I was actually calling you to tell you that I was going to be late."

She heard the mammal on the other side chuckle. "Ya callin' to tell us 'dis soon before yer late ? Woah, tha's pretty proper of you, missy."

"Uhm… Thanks ?"

"Yer welcome. See you in the evenin' den ? Haymarket's metro stop ?"

The bunny blinked a few times, her memory digging for a map of the city she had memorized years ago, when she still believed she could make it as a cop.

"Yes, I see where it is. Alright, see you at 5PM."

And he unceremoniously hung up.

"I forgot to ask his name." She muttered before shrugging. "Well, I guess there won't be a load of MPRD trucks there." She then gave the coyote his phone back. "Thanks, it was really nice of you."

"You're welcome." The coyote nodded before the bunny left.

She smiled to herself. Everything was going to be better than expected. She could still remember the last time her life had taken such a turn, and it had been a bumpy ride too.

* * *

 _"You're doing great honey."_

 _Judy glanced up at the buck holding her paw. He was dishevelled, anxious, and it was obvious he was barely keeping it together._

 _"I'm doing nothing at the moment, Ethan." She said, with some pain in her voice. "It's just contractions."_

 _"Yes… Yes I know." He draw a curt breath. "I know."_

 _A strong contraction pulled a groan of pain from her throat and she felt his supporting paw press hers._

 _"I hope it won't take much longer." She said between her clenched teeth. "How could mom do that… Five times over."_

 _One of the bunny nurses raised his head from between her legs. "You're almost at the peak dilatation, Mrs Hopps, you-"_

 _"Arrrgh !" She screamed, as the biggest contraction yet hit her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that all blood had left Ethan's face. She really hoped he wouldn't faint._

 _The bunny didn't need the nurse's word to know she should start pushing. In fact, the first kit of the litter felt like it was just sliding out._

 _"That's one !" Declared the nurse supportingly. The baby bunny started crying right away and she gave it to another nurse so that they could make a full check up._

 _The second kit seemed like it didn't want to get out as much. The pain had kicked up a notch, and she had to struggled not to crush Ethan's paw. She started pushing, a feral growl curling her lips as she felt the small body being freed from her belly._

 _There were a few seconds of anguishing silence, before it started crying too, and was taken away for a medical check._

 _"You okay ?" She asked her husband._

 _"Shouldn't I be the one asking that ?" He answered with a nervous chuckle._

* * *

She set foot in Zootopia five hour later than expected, but two hours before she'd need to reach the rendez-vous point. And she wasn't that upset about it. In fact, the few hours she had would be put to good use. She'd be able to buy some food, as well as a replacement SIM card with a new phone number. Then she'd head to the Haymarket's metro stop.

Finding some food as well as a telecom provider shop had been fairly easy, so she used her free time exploring the city for a couple of hours, using that as an excuse to postpone another phonecall she had to make.

Strangely, her feet led her back to the metro, and she resolved to make her way to the Haymarket. The trip was short, thanks to the city's extensive public transport system, and when she arrived she had still at least thirty minutes to kill.

She took out her phone and swapped her old SIM card for the new one. She had only taken a one month plan that could easily be recharged. When she turned her phone on, she saw that most of the notifications she had seen previously had disappeared, since she hadn't chosen a plan that included internet use. She was suddenly very glad for having made a point to memorize both of her kits' phone numbers as wells as her parents' and her now ex-husband's.

She dialled her son's number first but only reached the voice-mail. Either he had turned off his phone, which she doubted, or he was already calling someone else. Most likely her. She then dialled her daughter's number. It took only a half-ring before it was answered.

"Hello, Katie speaking ?" She instantly recognized the young bunny's voice. She sounded slightly distraught, and Judy could easily guess why.

She drew a breath. This wasn't going to be fun. "Hello sweetheart. It's-"

"Mom ? MOM ? Oh sweet cheese and crackers ? Where are you ? What is happening ?"

She could hear the voice of his son in the background. "Is it mom ? Quick, put her on speaker." There were shuffling noise, before her children's voice could be heard again, louder and slightly distorted.

"Mom ? What- I don't even know what to ask." Said Evan with a calm voice, though she could tell he was struggling to keep it from trembling..

Judy sat herself on her suitcase and stroked her ears back. "I don't know what to say either, Evan."

"Why ?" Came her daughter's voice. "Why would you divorce dad ?" Anger had started to appear as she finished her sentence.

"I felt trapped." Were the only words that came out.

"Couldn't you have talked it over ? You always told me communication was key in a couple. Did you even try that ? Did you even try to make it work ?"

Judy knew her daughter was partly right. But she was missing a key piece of insight. "Sweety, I didn't want it to work anymore. I wanted out. I wanted another life. I never wanted the one I had."

"You didn't want us ?" He daughter's voice turned to meek.

"No ! I didn't say that ! You two were the only thing that made me stay until the end. You are… I can't put it into words… You're the only reason my reason my life isn't full of regrets."

It was Evan's turn to talk. "Should we have stayed in bunny-burrow mom ? Is it because we left to study-"

"It's not because of you. Never think that ! It's on me. It's my fault. Not your father, not yours, mine !." She could hear a few hiccups coming from her daughter on the other side. Knowing her son, he was probably stroking her ears to sooth her.

"But why now ?" Evan asked. "Why wait for us to leave ?"

"I had to wait until you left… Because I needed to be sure that you could handle yourself without me. I'm not giving up on you, but I'm starting a new life. And it means I won't be able to support you two as much as I did before. As much as I should. As you deserve."

What she didn't say, the other reason she didn't dare to voice, was that they could be free to never talk to her again if they chose too. She had to give them that possibility, as it was only fair, even if it terrified her.

"I get it." finally said her son. "I can't say that I like it, but I get it."

"Well I dont !" Said Katie angrily.

"Kit, do you remember when mom told us about the ZPA, and the mammal inclusion initiative ?"

"Yeah of course. 'Never give up on your dreams, even if they seem impossible' why do you think I'm in med school."

"What if tomorrow you got expelled of med school for no reason other than your fur color ?"

Katie fell mute.

"What would you do ?" He asked.

"I don't know." She muttered.

"Do you think you wouldn't want another life than the one you were trying to avoid to begin with ?" He asked, still able to rationalize despite his distraught state.

"I don't know !" Shouted Katie angrily.

Silence lingered between them, while Judy hoped her children would accept her decision. If they decided they didn't want to talk to her anymore, she didn't know what she would do.

"I wasn't sure you would do it." Evan finally said in a strangled voice. "I hoped… I hoped you wouldn't go through with it."

"You knew ?" Asked Katie.

"I suspected. I was using the home computer a few weeks back, and I saw an e-mail notification about a job in the Meadowlands. Then I snooped around..." His voice finally broke.

Judy cringed, she thought she had been more careful. It was his turn to cry now, and she knew that Katie was the one stroking his ears now.

"Wasn't there any other way, mom ?" Asked Katie. "Anything else you could have done ?"

"I was going to leave, with or without a divorce. I just couldn't stay anymore. And I didn't want him to wait for me if I didn't come back. Your dad doesn't deserve that. He was fantastic, never let anyone tell you otherwise, but he wasn't what I wanted."

"You settled." Stated her daughter. "That's what grandpa Stu said… You know, I never realised why he looked so sad when he said that."

"I'm sorry Katie, really. I wish… I wish I hadn't had to do that. But I had. I-"

"I get it. I hate it, but I get it, mom. I just need to know, if you could go back would you do things differently ?"

Judy didn't even have to think before answering. "If it meant giving up on you two, no. Never."

Silence fell again, and the tears that had risen in the corner of her eyes dropped. She couldn't believe she still had tears left to cry.

"I… It's going to take time, mom." Declared Evan, choking back his own tears. "For me to accept that. I don't know how long."

"For me too." His sister added.

"I know. I understand… I don't know what I would do in you place. I'm sorry for putting you and your father through all this. I would understand if you never wanted to speak to me again, I know how selfish I'm acting. But never doubt that I love you. The both of you."

Ten seconds of agonizing silence followed her last sentence.

"We love you too, mom." They said at the same time. "Bye." Katie added, before cutting the communication.

Judy wiped her eyes and put her phone back in her pocket. It had gone better than she had hoped for. Her fear that they would reject her hadn't turned real, and it was the best she could have hoped for given the circumstances.

Her new life was only fifteen minutes away now, all she had to do was wait for the Meadowland Park Department truck to show up.

* * *

 _OHOHO, BUT WHO ANSWERED THAT PHONECALL ? WHAT A MYSTERY..._


	4. Meeting Her Heroes

_**Sapperjoe85 :** You win ! :)_

 _ **GhostWolf88 :** You lose ! :(_

 _ **Guest :** I personnaly like the GreyHopps pairing, that's why I included it in the story. _  
_I tried to convey how wrong it had been for (and of) Judy to settle for Ethan, especially since she should have known settling wasn't a good idea. It was selfish of her to use him like she did (which she did do, even though subconsciously), and I tried to convey it without condemning it._

 _Good reading !_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Meeting Her Heroes**

"Wow, I see you've cleaned da place up real good." A fennec said in a voice too deep for his size.

A red fox, with grey streaks of white fur and a dented ear pulled his head from the drawer he was trudging in and gave a glance to the office he was in. Papers were scattered everywhere, files and the papers inside had been sent flying, most of the metal cabinets were opened, their content almost falling off of their shelves.

"I think, it's actually an improvement from old Ramowitz's classification system. Meaning, a step above 'nothing'. He screwed us over real good." Said the red fox with a sarcastic smirk as his gaze fell on the smaller vulpine. He too was greying, and though he technically was the same age than his taller counterpart, it seemed like age wasn't affecting him as much. "So what was it about the new recruit ?"

"She's gon' be late."

Nick pinched his lips. "I guess this is good news in a sense. Did you ask her name ?"

"Ya don't even know 'dat ?"

The red fox leaned his head backward and rested it against the back of his seat. He then emitted an annoyed sigh. "I didn't even know her species or gender. Need I remind you that I learnt we were getting a new recruit the day he left ?"

He settled himself at the computer and tried a new password, just for the hell of it. Once again, it didn't work. "Alright, they want to screw with me, I'm going to screw with them." He declared, flipping the keyboard angrily. "I'm calling Honey."

"Ya shure about that ?"

Nick grinned. "Absolutely not, but we need a tech nut. I need to access the superintendant account."

"That old fart set us up to fail." Seethed Finnick between his teeth before popping a toothpick from a box in his pocket. He started gnawing at it, a habit he had taken since he had stopped smoking, a tip that Weaselton had given him a few years back.

Nick took a bunch of paper and started to classify them, putting aside the ones that he would have to correct, meaning at least half of them. "What makes you say that ? The fact that I was named his successor by city hall despite his opposition to it, the fact that he purposely left every single problem hanging in the last year just so that they would fall onto my lap, the fact that he changed his computer credentials just before leaving so that I would remain locked out until City Hall deigned send a computer mammal over to unlock it, or the fact that he hired a total stranger in an important position without letting me even glance over the details ?"

Finnick grinned. "Da first one, definitely da first one."

"Well, that'll teach me to throw my weight around to get you a job." Nick muttered, knowing full well the fennec fox was only joking. "Do you even know what this gal's species is ?"

"Nope. She 'ad a nice voice, though. I picture her motherly, with a smilin' face, and just the right amount of plump." Finnick answered with an overplayed dreamy gaze while he helped his "boss" file the paper scattered around the room.

"I'd settle for moderately competent. But knowing Crapowitz, she'll either be a clueless moron, or a friend of his he'll have hired to screw us over. Or both." Nick sighed, before a file landed on his face.

"You gotta lighten'up a little, Nick." smirked the fennec. "Maybe you'll find that ya ain't doomed to be an eternal bachelor."

"I really don't see the connection." Muttered the red fox. "Shouldn't you be fixing the pickup ?"

The fennec groaned. "It's busted real bad and I don't have the parts anyway. Stuff should be delivered around noon an' the old beast'd be ready for this evening if I rush mahself. If not, I'll use mah own van."

Nick shrugged, maybe Finnick's van wasn't right for department image, but given how neck deep in crap they were, it was the least of their worries.

He was actually glad the fennec had to stay for the moment. The hell that he had expected this tedious workday to be got demoted to mild purgatory.

When noon came, they heard the noise of newcomers downstairs. "Think it's your car parts ?"

Finnick had moved to the door to hear better. "The delivery service said they'd call me. Most likely 'tis our hardworkers, back for the teambuildin' session."

Nick lifted himself from his chair, and grabbed the cane he hated to need. With a discreet limp, he reached the fennec and they descended side by side to find three mammals slumped on the couches. A grizzly which was scratching his eyes while a weasel had collapsed on his belly, and an elephant, a large water bottle in her trunk.

"Hey guys." Greeted Nick. "How was morning ?"

The tree mammals shot him a disgruntled glance.

"It was shit." Stated the weasel. "Literally."

Nick lifted a brow.

"One of the refuge had clogged toilets." Explained the grizzly. "Someone had to crawl through some piping to unblock it."

"By paw." Added the weasel. "I want a raise, Wilde. I didn't sign up for 'dis."

Nick tried not to laugh. The small and tubular frame of the weasel made him the perfect fit for this kind of job, but it didn't make it more pleasant. At least he had been able to take a shower, or a dozen, given he didn't smell like shit at all. "Sorry to hear that."

"Nah, you're not."

"Alright, Q-tip, I'm not." He grinned. Things between them had always remained rocky. They were friends as far as Nick would say, but years of being being competitors in the hustling department were hard to erase. And the fox knew he was partly to blame for that.

"Anyway, Herbert had to pull me back out by the rope, cause I got stuck." He said, pointing at the grizzly. "Otherwise, I'd have become part of the clogging."

Nick scratched the back of his neck. The park was slowly going to shit, quite literally. He knew that Ramowitz had never been incompetent, but as he had thought, the sheep had set him up to fail. And even worse, most of his original employees had always regarded Nick with contempt, seeing his nomination at his post as nepotism (which it completely was) from City Hall. Aside from Herbert Growlsky who had never adhered to their views on Nick, and Joan Pennington that had a pretty straight moral compass thanks to her parents' education, all of them had found their way out one after the other following Nick's recruitment.

Each time, more nepotism had ensued. Not that any of the mammals Nick had recruited himself had proved to be the wrong ones so far.

"What about you Trunks ?" He asked turning to face the elephant. Finnick was on her shoulder whispering something, while she visibly blushed and tried to playfully swat his snout away.

"Sorry boss, I didn't quite get that." She apologized.

"Over the sound of all that flirting, I'm not surprised." Nick jabbed, kicking her blush up a notch.

"I uh-" She fumbled on her word while every gaze and grin turned toward her. Nick saw a discreet tremble appear in her hooves, and her trunk started twitching.

An awkward silence followed, as Nick realised maybe it wasn't the best idea to make fun of a mammal suffering from social anxiety in public. After all these years he should have remembered that.

"Alright, Duke, Herb, you're on barbecue duty, chop chop."

The two predators got up for their seats and directed themselves toward the exit. "Sure boss." Said the grizzly with a calm smile. Barbecue duty was Nick's idea of team-building, which was nothing more than a grate held over a fire. Given that there was now a majority of predators working in the department, everyone was okay with it. And the elephant was a big fan of roasted fruits and marshmallows, so she had nothing to complain about.

"Sorry about that Joan." apologized the fox, after the two other had left. "So, how went your work ?"

The elephant exhaled slowly while Fin soothingly scratched her ear. She took a deep breath to stop the shaking in her hooves.

"It went okay, but it's far from over. The storm debris are still all over the place. The nets have caught most of the dead trees, so they shouldn't get to the city, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take me a week or two before being done cleaning this mess. As long as we don't get wrecked by the weather."

Nick sighed. Given their mammal power, she was doing as good as he had hoped. "I could hire a beaver team." He proposed.

It would put a big dent in their budget and they all knew it. And spending such a large sum so early after his investiture would reflect poorly on him.

"No boss. Don't worry, I'll manage."

Nick clapped his paws. "Good, perfect. Go give a hand to the lame preds outside, I have a couple of things to talk over with Fin."

The elephant lifted up her large mass as the small vulpine hopped down from her shoulder and lumbered outside.

"Fin, should I remind you about the fraternization rules ?" He asked as soon as she was out of earshot. Well, he hoped she was, because you never knew with those large ears.

Finnick's face instantly fell. "You might have ta' refresh mah memory." He grunted.

"There is none." Nick grinned. "HOWEVER !" He lifted a finger, cutting short the smile that was reappearing on the small vulpine's face. "Jo' is a delicate thing and she's been here longer than you. If you scr- if you mess with her or her feelings, I'll fire you so hard your fur will smoke for weeks. After having shown her pictures of you in your toot-toot costume."

Finnick was surprised, and impressed, by how protective of the elephant his friend was. "Hey Nicky, I'm just bein' friendly, Ya know me..."

"Yes, I do. That's why I'm warning you." Nick frowned. "She's not Honey, she's not Wight, she's not Nangi..." He enumerated. "In fact, she's almost half their and your age, and she doesn't have their thick skin. I have no problem with you two chatting, flirting, being friendly or whatever it is you call it. I simply must make it clear, you're my best friend and I love you like a brother, but if you hurt her, or anyone in the team for that matter-"

"Alright, alright." The fennec raised his paws. "You've made your point. Sheesh you are a real party pooper. For once in my life, I can put my paws on a real fine lady..."

"And like every lady, she deserves better than to be treated like a piece of tissue."

Finnick bristled. "Hey, now, tha's unfair !"

Nick squinted his eyes. He hadn't planned this discussion to turn into a wake up call, but in his opinion it had been a long time coming. "Isn't it, though ?"

The fennec raised a finger, bit his lips and reluctantly put it back down. In his opinion, he didn't treat the ladies wrong, but he wasn't the type go for the long term commitment. He didn't ghost them, he didn't treat them wrong. He was even upfront about how he worked. But for whatever reason, it was never enough. Maybe it was the bad boy attitude, maybe it was that he liked to make them feel special... They ended getting attached, and he didn't want to commit, hence break up, hence tears. "I liked you better when you weren't so responsible." He huffed.

"Power corrupts, Finnick." Nick smirked. "Besides, if you're feeling that lonely, Honey should come by in a day or two."

The fennec fox snickered. "Oh, hell no ! I ain't stickin' it back in that crazy."

They made their way outside, and were welcomed by the appetizing smell of roasting meat. The team shared their meal chattering and bantering, before Nick had to remind them that they had, in fact, some work to do.

Unfortunately for him, Finnick's vehicle part weren't delivered, and he spent the remainder of the afternoon helping his boss in his office. He almost lept with joy when 5PM approached, as he it meant he got to leave to go and bring back their new unknown coworker.

"See ya later, Slick, have fun with all the paperwork." He grinned, making his way toward the door.

"Deserter." Nick joked back, no even lifting his gaze from his work.

"It's called tactical retreat." The small fennec shouted from the stairs, before exiting the building and hopping inside his van.

* * *

Fortunately, he knew all the backroads, and was able to dodge the growing commute traffic. He hoped that the recruit would be there on time to not be caught in the evening jams, internally fustigating himself for not having called her before leaving. It didn't matter, he was going to be a little early, so he would speed her up by calling her at his time of arrival.

Judy looked at her phone. 4:51PM. She decided it was time to call and check on her ride. She started dialling the number and was cut by loud music, emitted by a large van with a very creative paint job.

She lifted a brow and looked for the driver, seeing what looked like a baby fox, before realising that it was in fact a fennec fox.

With a smile, she told herself how ridiculous it would be if it happened to be her ride. She didn't have the time to ask herself further, however, as her phone rang.

"Hey, Lady ? I'm at the parking lot." Came a really deep voice, which probably belonged to a bear, or maybe a rhino. She looked around and hoped that she hadn't mistook the rendez-vous point.

"I'm here too." She answered. "How can I recognize you ?"

"The van with the awesome paint job."

Her jaw fell, as she turned her gaze toward said van. Judy could see the fennec was on his phone. She slowly raised a hesitant paw.

...

The fennec had arrived to the parking lot and was looking around for a female with a suitcase. The only one that fitted that description was the appetizing matronly bunny wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. He dismissed her instantly. Sure, a bunny mom as a park attendant and ranger. Ramowitz might have been a massive asshole, but he couldn't be as devious as that.

He took his phone and started dialing the new recruit's number. Coincidentally, as it started ringing, the bunny looked at her own phone and tapped the screen, before bringing it to her long ear.

"Hey, Lady ? I'm at the parking lot."

"I'm here too. How can I recognize you ?"

The way her lips had moved, he could their movement matched with the voice he was hearing.

"The van with the awesome paint job." He answered.

The bunny slowly raised a hesitant paw and started waving. "Is it you I'm waving to ?"

Finnick felt like his jaw was dislocating itself, and he had to shake his head to be able to talk again. "Yeah. The bunny dressed in pink and blue ? I see ya. I'm getting out of the van." He declared, doing so at the same time, before hanging up.

He stared at her as she approached, detailing her from head to toe. He had called it, motherly, plumpy, cute even. Fucking Crapowitz, Nick was going to lose his shit.

...

Judy was approaching the van hesitantly, under the small Fennec's gaze. She could feel him gauging her and she guessed she shouldn't be surprised. They were going to work together, he had to check if he would be able to rely on her. She detailed him too, but there wasn't much to see. Tank top, cargo pants, no park uniform, and a toothpick between his teeth.

She gave him her paw and he firmly shook it. "My name is Judith Hopps, but you probably already knew that. You can call me Judy."

The fennec smiled, as he felt the strength in her grip. Maybe she wasn't going to be that bad. "As a matter of fact, nah. I didn't. The name's Finnick."

The bunny did a double take. "Finnick, like, The Finnick ?" She asked.

"Huh, yeah, the one and only, I guess ?" He answered, unsure.

"The Finnick that assisted Nick Wilde, along with Duke Weaselton ? The trio that saved the city twenty years ago ?" She was trying to not go into full fangirl mode, but it was really hard.

Finnick, for his part, felt his eyes go wide. Few people recognized Nick anymore, and even less him. "Well, yeah, tha's me."

It was really strange to see this matronly bunny go from business-like to squealing mess in so little time.

"Oh. My. God. I'm your biggest fan !" She almost shouted, jumping up and down before stopping, closing her eyes and drawing a slow breath. "Sorry. Sorry. You must be so used to this by now, it must be really annoying to you."

Finnick chuckled. If this was her reaction upon meeting him, he couldn't wait to see her faint when she'd realise she was going to work with the whole gang. "Don't worry lady, it's always nice to meet someone that remembers that old story. Please get in, I'd like to avoid the rest of the evening traffic." He said warmly, putting on his most seductive attitude. Joan was off-limit, but the chubby sexy bunny wasn't. And the fact that she was a fangirl, would probably make it go smoother.

"Oh. Of course. Sorry." She apologized again, before putting her heaving suitcase in the back of the van, and hopping up next to him at the front. "You must tell me everything. I mean, can you ? Is that okay for me to ask ?"

The fennec smiled. "Well, there ain't much else to tell than what was said in da' newspapers."

"Oh." She said, her ears falling a bit.

Seeing her disappointed expression, the fennec hawked. "Well… Maybe there were a couple of details that might have been glossed over."

* * *

 _Finnick was still groggy from the fall. Nick had shielded him when the ram had charged them, but he had still been knocked with his friend into the museum pit. He had a hard time remembering the crazy chase on the train tracks that had led them into this situation, but it wasn't their main problem at the moment._

 _Sounds were muddled and he had a hard time making out what was being said._

 _Shaking his head, he started to find his bearings again, and saw Duke trying to splint Nick's leg with his belt and bits of fake wood found in the museum's installation._

 _"So, what are you gonna do Smellwether ? Kill us ?" The snark in Nick's voice sounded off, there was real fear in his voice. Finnick could see him with a paw behind his back, clenching the phone that was recording the conversation._

 _"Oh, of course not." She said, aiming the Nighthowler gun at the weasel. "He is."_

 _"No ! Duke !" Nick tried to reach for the weasel, but he rolled away, cluching his chest and gasping for air._

 _"Guys… I feel strange."_

 _"Fight it Duke !"_

 _The ewe had already take out her phone, but even then, the fennec fox could already make out the distant police sirens. "Yes, police ?! There's a savage weasel in the Natural History Museum ! Two civilians are already hurt ! Please hurry !"_

 _Finnick had rushed to the weasel's side, and had put his paws to his shoulder and chest. "Duke, for fuck's sake ! Yer stronger dan dis ! You've injected worse chemicals than this in yer body ! Fight it !"_

 _The ewe snickered wickedly. "Oh, but he can't help it, can he ? Since preds are just "biologically predisposed" to be savages. Gosh, think of the headlines ! Three savage predators tear eachother apart in a fit of feral madness !"_

 _"So that's your plan, shitstain ?" Shouted Finnick. "Make prey fear us, use that to stay on top ?"_

 _"Yeah, pretty much."_

 _"I so fucking hate politicians." He spat._

 _"And you really think that will work ? Mammals aren't that stupid." Stated Nick. Finnick almost barked a laugh, he knew for a fact that their line of work was based on them being actually that stupid._

 _"Fear always works! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way. "_

 _Duke started snarling and shaking, Finnick took a step back, getting ready for what was about to come._

 _"Bye bye, little fox." The ewe grinned. From were he stood, the fennec was pretty sure she hadn't really said the word fox._

 _The weasel turned his head toward the fennec fox, some drool dripping from his fangs. If a week sooner, someone had told him he would feel fear while facing Duke, he'd have laughed in their face. Now, every instinct screamed at him to run away. Still, he was the only thing between a savage mammal and his best friend, and hell if he was going to let Nick get hurt._

 _"Come on." He muttered, putting himself in a fighting position._

 _Duke went prone, ready to pounce. When he launched himself, Finnick was almost surprised by his speed._

 _Almost._

 _He had fought plenty of mammals in his life, most of them bigger and stronger than him. Maybe he had lost as much fight as he had won, but that didn't matter. A savage mammal didn't fight with their brain, which gave him a hell of an advantage. Sidestepping, he rammed his fist in the weasels belly. He knew it wasn't going to be enough to take him down, so he rounded him, placing himself behind him and jumped. He managed to put an arm around Duke's throat and use the other to lock it._

 _"Easy, Duke. Don't fight, yer only gon' hurt yourself."_

 _The weasel didn't listen and threw his body around, trying to make his assailant let go. Finnick's head and back took a few hit, but his opponent strength were diminishing, until he stopped moving. The fennec fox checked his breath and heartbeat. "He's fine !" He shouted to Nick._

 _The red fox chuckled and turned his head toward the ewe. "Heh, you just had to dart the least dangerous mammal in the room."_

 _"What ?" The ewe was staring at the fennec fox in disbelief. How could such a small mammal subdue a savage predator so easily._

 _"Not my first rodeo, lady." Finnick grinned. "So, whatchu gonna do now ? Shoot me ? I'm a small target, yer sniper is out of commission, and I'm pretty sure I can dodge your shots."_

 _"Whatever, It's your word against mine !"_

 _The tod took out the phone he had been hiding in his back. "Yeah… Not so sure about that." He smiled, starting to replay the recording just as the cops reached them._

* * *

"After that, I guess ya know the rest. There is some stuff that didn't make it to the public eye, like how Duke 'been the one providin' the Nighthowlers to Doug Ramses in the first place. Or tha' he tried to go to the cops and they didn't believe 'im. That's why he went to us by the way. Me an' him were always friendly, but Nick was always a bit of a dick to him. I had to get very convincin' to get him on board."

Judy was stunned. How could the police just refuse to listen to a concerned citizen ?

"Oh, we also discovered Lionheart had hidden away the first 25 savage mammals."

"He what !?"

"He said was tryin' to find a cure for them, but we're pretty sure he was also coverin' his own ass, bein' a predator an all. Keepin' the secret got us some favours from him, which… Well, it helped us a lot afterwards."

"Why is it that Nick was the one the media focused on ? It doesn't seem like he did more work than you did."

The fennec snickered. "Well, he ended up being the self-appointed leader. We'd never have been able to find the real culprits without his connection to Mr B- Without him. Every decisions taken after Duke went to us were his. Besides, if ya know anytin' about our line of work back then, ya should realised bein' famous would not be a good thing."

Judy nodded, the media had not been too kind in their portrayal of the fox, despite the fact that they treated him as a hero. She knew for a fact that he and the two other predators had always stood on the edge of legality. Not that she blamed them, foxes and weasels weren't the most trusted mammals, and even in the tri-burrows, people remained wary of them, leaving them struggling to find steady jobs.

"They needed a face to show, he and his ego accepted to be it. Made his life way harder though. Can't run a con if everyone knows who ya are."

As he finished his sentence, they finally reached the MPRD's parking lot. Judy looked around to see only two parked vehicles. A pickup truck with its hood open, a large blue car. There also was a megafauna-sized caravan. Near one of the building was a large grizzly holding a weasel up under a gutter, while said mustelid was fixing it.

"Is that a secure procedure ?"

The fennec shrugged. "It's a 'whatever works' procedure. We use a lot of those around there."

Judy squinted to see the weasel better as Finnick parked the van. "Wait, is that Duke Weaselton ?"

"You know lady, just 'cause I'm Finnick doesn't mean 'dis is the Duke. I hope all preds don't look the same to you."

The bunny's ears instantly fell down. "Sorry… Since you were here, I just assumed… I'm sorry, I didn't mean-."

Finnick gave her a shit eating grin. "I'm pullin' ya leg. This is the Duke."

Judy gave him an annoyed smirk and punched his shoulder. "Jerk."

"Heh. Go say hello, I'll take care of yer suitcase." He said.

"That's very gallant of you, Finnick, I might forgive you for making fun of me." She coyly smiled before exiting the vehicle.

As she walked away, the fennec rubbed his shoulder. "Woah, this one's a pawful. I like her already."

Judy was making her way toward the two predators without an ounce of hesitation, which pulled sceptical looks from the weasel and grizzly. Even twenty years after the biggest predator scare, it was rare for prey to approach predators without this little hesitation.

"Hello." She greeted. "My name is Judith Hopps, I'm your new coworker. Nice to meet you."

The bear leaned down and gave her two of his finger of his paw to shake. "Nice to meet you too Judith." He greeted with a deep voice. "Herbert Growlsky. You can call me Herbert or Herb."

"Please call me Judy." She smiled.

"Will do, Judy."

It was the weasel's turn to approach her. "Hey, the name's-"

"Duke Weaselton. One of the three heroes of Zootopia. I'm a big fan !" She said without drawing a breath. "It's such an honor to meet you in person !" She added. "Oh sorry. I'm trying not to fawn too much."

If the weasel had tried to raise his eyebrows even more, he was sure he would have fractured them. Wait, could eyebrows get fractured ? They were muscles, so no, probably not.

"Thanks. Shure's good to feel appreciated." He smiled. "But we're not such a big deal. I'm just happy to be workin' here. Even if some people are a pain to work with." He shot a side glance toward the grizzly.

"This isn't a nice thing to say about Fin when he's not here to defend himself." Answered Herbert in a tone so deadpan she wasn't sure it was a joke.

She still couldn't hold in a discreet giggle though. If she was to work in that kind of company, there was no way she wasn't going to enjoy herself. Her father had once told her that it didn't matter what kind of work you were doing. As long as you did it with friends, it never really felt like work, and it had always proven true.

"Ya met the boss yet ?" The weasel asked.

"I met Mr Ramowitz. Well, we only muzzletimed, but I was told he recently retired."

The grizzly and weasel exchanged a second sceptical glance. Not only had Ramowitz recruited a new mammal without consulting his successor, but he had never met her in person. That didn't smell good in their book. Then again, both of them appreciated her upbeat attitude, so she couldn't be so bad.

"Ya should come wid' me 'den." Came the deep fennec voice behind her, as he approached with her suitcase.

"Want me to bring that to her room in the meantime, Fin ?" Asked the grizzly.

"Oh, you really don't need to." Protested the bunny. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense." The grizzly grabbed the suitcase, it easily fitted in one of his paw. "It would be my pleasure, a sort of thank you for being the feminine presence we sorely lacked until now."

"Hey !" Protested Finnick. "What about Joan ?"

The grizzly bit his lips. "Er… Well… She's not very feminine." He defended himself.

Finnick shot him a dubious look. "Or maybe you feel emasculated 'cause she's bigger 'dan ya."

"I'll bring this to her room." The grizzly said surly, before walking away.

"You did it now, Fin." Sighed Weaselton.

The fennec fox facepalmed. "Shit… Wait, Herb, I didn't mean it like that !" He shouted, before running after the ursid.

"Guess I'm gonna be the one to take you to the boss." Said the weasel.

"Take me to your leader !" She ordered jokingly, trying to defuse the awkwardness the two other mammals had created by leaving, and pulling a chuckle from the mustelid in the process.

The building they entered hadn't been build for megafauna. In fact, it looked like a four-story building from the outside with an added large door to it. From the inside, it was obvious that the three first floors had been turned into one by removing them. It felt like stepping in scaled up version of her childhood home. Old wooden furniture gave a homely mood to it, underlined by slightly worn wallpaper. The oversized furniture that looked like it belong to the seventies was a nice touch.

They took the stares and reached a large office, with paper scattered everywhere. Behind the desk was a grey red fox wearing a tired and annoyed expression.

"Hey Nick." The weasel greeted.

"Hey Duke." The fox said in turn without lifting his eyes from his work. "Heading home ? Give a kiss to you Duchess and little Counts for me, will you ?"

"Nah, I brought ya the new recruit."

The fox lifted his gaze from his desk and looked at the bunny. Why the hell would Fuckowitz have hired a bunny ? To mess with him ? Of course. Best way to screw things over, put a bunny and a fox in the same room. But why did she look like she was vibrating ?

"OH MY GOD !" She squealed. "NICHOLAS PIBERIUS WILDE IS MY BOSS ?"

Yep, that was an eyebrow fracture. Nick would recognize the sensation anywhere. He left his seat and grabbed his cane, limping toward the starstruck bunny fangirl.

Bunny fangirl.

He barely contained a sigh of annoyed disbelief. Something was up.

"You have me at a disadvantage, Mrs. You know my name, and I don't know yours."

"Judith Hopps but you can call me Judy." She extended her paw and he shook it, surprised by the firmness in it. "You're a hero ! A real hero ! I mean what were the chances I would meet Finnick, Duke Weaselton, and then the legendary Nicholas Wilde in the same day ?" The bunny fell mute, realising she was embarrassing herself. "I'm sorry Mr Wilde. It's just… You're kind of an inspiration."

The fox gave a glance to the weasel and nodded toward the door, informing him that he could leave. The mustelid didn't wait for a confirmation and nodded in turn. "Nice ta have met you Judy. See ya tomorrow." And he disappeared, eager to get home.

Nick gauged the bunny, his eyes roaming over her from head to toe. Small, a bit chubby, wearing a pink shirt with crumpled collar and a pair of blue jeans. No make up, and eyes slightly red. She had cried recently. Ring on her left paw, so married. Expected at her age. And she probably also had children. Not many he supposed, otherwise she wouldn't have taken a job so far from… Well, anywhere, really.

"Alright, I need to ask. What did my predecessor say to you ?"

"I admit, he didn't tell me much Mr W-"

He raised his paws and stopped her. She was starting to get a bit annoying. "If we're going to work together, you're going to have to call me Nick. Non negotiable."

"Alright. Nick." A grin split her face. "Oh my god, I called you Nick."

Now that didn't make sense to him. He knew he had a few fans, but all of them were predators, and absolutely none of them were as frantic. That raised even more red flags.

"Okay, bunny really funny, we've all had a good laugh but you can drop the act now. What did Fuckowitz put you up to ?"

The bunny's smile faltered. "What ?"

"This must be really funny to you, the fact that this whole operation is going down the crapper, but I don't have time for games. What's the shtick ?"

"I'm- I'm afraid I don't understand Mr- Nick."

The fox gave her a look of disbelief mixed with scepticism. "Alright, let me lay it all out for you. Ramowitz left us a whole year of mess to deal with, and I'm not even counting things that had been piling up before that. On top of the heap of crap, he hired a total stranger that just happens to be a "fan"." The fox made air quotes before joining in his hands. "In a key position. Forgive my incredulity, but either you're working with him to help dig our grave, or you're as clueless as me on why he chose to hire someone like you. Unless, and here's the fun part, hiring an underqualified clueless bunny is supposed to be the last kick in my fangs."

"I-" She began, blood slowly draining from her face and a weight settling itself in her stomach.

The fox raised a finger to shut her up and pointed it at her. "So, let me make this painfully clear. The three reasons I haven't sent you packing up yet are; One : You're a city employee and I would need to make a report to fire you, in which I wouldn't have anything to put yet, and also because, Two : I don't have access to the superintendant account on the computer at the moment. And three : There is a possibility that you're actually not in on the joke, in which case it wouldn't be fair of me to fire you. Yet." He approached his snout a mere inch from her face. "Screw with me as much as much as you want, I can take it, but give shit to any of my employees and I will rain down hellfire on your fluffy tail."

Her nose twitched, and her tears dangerously rose. They said one should never meet their heroes, but at least two of them were actually decent mammals. She swallowed back the tears as a hostile expression painted itself on her face.

"You have no idea who I am, what I can do, or what I had to do to get here today. But if you think for a second I'm the kind of mammal that would mess with others just for money, or anything else for that matter, you're sorely mistaken. As for my qualifications, I've been a bun-scout for twenty years, and on firewatch for more than ten. And I'm not even counting the years I studied law, or my experience in administration when I worked on my family's farm. I don't know if you think I'm incompetent because I'm a bunny, a female, or a fan of yours, but frankly whichever it is, it says a lot about you. And if you think for even a second I'm the kind of bunny that would give up because of your idle threats, you are, again, sorely mistaken."

She put a threatening finger on his chest.

"So, let me make it painfully clear : I couldn't care less about your paranoia. The only three reasons I haven't put my fist across your face are; One : I need this job, two : I won't give you a reason to fire me, and three : I'm above hitting a cripple."

From one inch, the distance between them decreased to half of one.

"You, me : not friends." She seethed.

The fox had to struggle to keep a straight face at how astonished he had been of her reaction. And angry. That bunny had teeth. His brow furrowed again, anger curling his lips. She wasn't in cahoot with Ramowitz ? Great. Did it mean he had time to babysit a clueless bunny ? No. The department was still sinking and he'd rather have mammals he had chosen, and who he trusted, rather than a total stranger.

Besides, the "cripple" line had hit closer to him than he liked. And he couldn't have that.

"I don't want nor need you friendship. What I need is useful and qualified employees that I can trust." A mean grin curled the corner of his lips. "So tell me if this story sound familiar. A naive stupid hick gets hit hard by her mid-life crisis decides, "Hey, look at me, I'm gonna move to Zootopia, where life is never boring and might at last do something with my miserable life." Only to find, whoopsie, finding a new life isn't that easy, and that dream of finding a purpose ? Double whoopsie, an asshole manipulated her into screwing other mammals over instead. And whoopsie number threesie, no one cares about her dreams."

Judy choked her tears back. Having all her fears thrown back in her faces in three sentences was gut-wrenching.

"And soon enough, those dreams die, and our bunny sinks into emotional squalor, living in a box under a bridge. Till finally, she has no choice but to go back to her little boring life with her ex-ex-husband, her 2.4 litters, her little garden and her housework."

* * *

Finnick had finally been able to square things with Herb, not that it had been hard. The grizzly knew the fennec's jab had been involuntary, but the small vulpine had still promised him a case of bear sized beer to make it up to him.

He was now making his way back to the main building, and could hear Nick's muffled voice while he climbed the stairs. As he reached the first floor Judy barged out from the office.

"Hey missy, your room is-" He started, before noticing that she was in the verge of crying.

"I'll find my way." She cut him, her voice near the breaking point.

He watched her rush down the stairs before turning his gaze back to his best friend's office and stepping in.

"Nick, what the fuck !?"


	5. First Dive

_**GhostWolf88 :** Kind of a typical start, given that their story starts by butting head in the movie, though not for the same reasons... Thank for the compliment, I'm trying to not be too heavy on the pathos here._

 _ **Sapperjoe85 :** I like Finnick being a chubby chaser (or a mountain climber really).  
For several reasons, I don't think Judy will ever get rid of her wedding band... As for being a fangirl... Well, it was only logical._

 _ **mhiggs678 :** He gives a litteral meaning to "Drowning in pussy."_

 _ **Guest1 :** Maybe. Maybe not._

 _ **Guest2 :** Yep, baggage. A truckloard of it. I think you read the situation perfectly._

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - First Dive**

A crappy evening had been followed by the same kind of crappy night. The fox had once again slept in his office. He was currently making his way down the stairs as Finnick's shouting from a few hours prior still resonated in his head.

The few things he could remember from it was that he was an asshole that should maybe try not to pass his nerves on the new recruit, and that just because their situations wasn't the best at the moment didn't give him permission to do whatever he wanted. Especially making an innocent bunny cry. And if she had left, he'd better have a pretty good excuse ready.

Entering the building's living/meeting-room, the tod noticed three things. First, the chatter was unusually absent. Second, Finnick was not on Joan's shoulder, and was instead glaring at him from the seat next to Judy. And three, Judy was resolutely avoiding his gaze (and also, surprisingly, still there).

The elephant, bear and weasel, for their part, were wearing dubious expressions, obviously asking themselves what was going on. The fox decided he wasn't in a mood to explain everything, especially in front of everyone, and started talking before anyone could start asking questions.

"Alright folks, I guess everyone has had the time to greet the newcomer. Duke and Herbert, you'll keep working on fixing the refuges."

They both nodded.

"Joan, you're taking the newbie with you. Teach her the job, plus anything you can think of."

The elephant raised her trunk. "I'm not sure I'm the most qualified for this, boss."

Nick gave her an encouraging smile. "See it as a new experience. I'm sure you'll do great."

"Okay, boss." She answered meekly.

"Good. Fin-"

"The vehicle parts were delivered while you were droolin' on yer desk." The small vulpine stated, with more than a hint of hostility. "I'm gon' spend the day under the hood."

Nick pinched his lips. "Fine by me. See you tonight." He then strolled back up, ready to dive head first into his personal hell.

...

Judy had barely slept that night. She had spent most of it staring at the ceiling, hoping that the previous day would turn out to only have been a bad dream, and that she would wake up next to Ethan in her comfortable, miserable and predictable life.

When the sun had risen, she was still in the same room with a squeaky bed, a worn chair, cracked desk and stained wallpapers. She had taken a quick cold shower, since hot water didn't seem to run.

Then she had waited at her window until Finnick's van had arrived on the parking a lot. When she had entered the living room, the chatter had immediately stopped. She had awkwardly sat herself near the fennec fox, waiting for their boss to arrive and tell them what their work would be.

Now, she was following a pachyderm that was giving her the occasional nervous glance, stopping when the bunny's belly grumbled.

"Did you have breakfast ?" She asked.

"I forgot." Answered the bunny, with a tinge of embarrassment.

"Follow me." The elephant led her to an immense kitchen obviously built (or rather, reconfigured) with megafauna needs in mind, and started raiding the fridge, emptying some of its content in a cooler. "Are cereals okay ?" She asked, taking out a milk jug and an orange juice bottle.

"Yes."

The both of them sat at a large table, the bunny directly on it, since the provided chairs wouldn't be high enough for her.

"I'm Joan." Stated the massive mammal as Judy took her first spoonful of cereal.

The bunny froze, realising that she had in fact completely forgot to introduce herself to her coworker. "I'm Judith Hopps. You can call me Judy." She said with a nervous smile, shaking the offered trunk.

The bunny started eating again, to try and ignore the awkward silence that was growing.

"So… What happened between you, Fin and the Boss ?"

Judy froze. "Er… Well. What makes you say something happened ?"

"Fin was pissed, but I don't think it was at you, and you were trying to avoid the Boss' gaze. Also, he was trying to avoid yours and Fin's. I'm guessing there is a story there."

Judy opened her mouth and closed it. Whatever the elephant views on her boss was, she wasn't about to badmouth him behind his back, even if she thought he deserved it. "I'd rather you ask them before telling you my side of the story." She answered looking away.

"Did you three fight ?" Asked elephant inquisitively.

"Fin wasn't there." The bunny blurted before closing her mouth again. "Listen, I'm new here, and I don't feel like I'm having a great, or even remotely good start… I'd rather not talk about this until it's resolved. If it resolves. And if I'm getting fired, I don't want to risk bringing others down with me."

"Nick wants to fire you ? This soon ?" Reacted the elephant with a confused expression.

"Can we switch topic ?" Cut the bunny uncomfortably. "I really don't want to talk about this."

The elephant frowned. The situation perplexed her. In her book, Nick was one of the most decent mammal she knew. Granted, he had been on edge the last year because of Ramowitz's actions, his mood diving even deeper since the ram's retirement, and because of the impending inspection that was sure to follow Nick's intronisation. What could have the bunny done to attract his ire, though ? She'd ask Finnick later, he would know.

"Alright. Got it. What about I tell you what we're going to be up to today ?"

"That would be great."

The elephant went on to explain her than a recent storm had unrooted a lot of trees, and that most of them had landed in the rivers leading to the canal and rainforest districts. They had installed nets in preparation for the event, which had caught the bulk of it. But they still needed to get them out of the water, to avoid them from spilling out and damaging the city, or creating dams, which could lead to flooding.

Hearing that, the bunny had made her way back to her room to grab a few things, while the elephant waited for her in the parking lot.

...

They started to make their way into the forest, and Judy had trouble following along, as her coworker's cruise speed was the same as her jogging pace.

She had to break into a sprint a couple of times to catch up to her, until the pachyderm finally stopped for a break.

"Am I going too fast ?" She asked. "I always forget you little guys are slower than me."

On one paw, Judy felt a little upset by calling a 'little guy' (more for the "little" than the "guy"), on the other, she felt a bit ashamed to struggle on her first day. "It'd be nice if you could walk a teensy bit slower. How far are we anyway ?"

"Half an hour."

The bunny couldn't stop herself from groaning. Half and hour more at this speed and she would collapse. Her stamina wasn't as good as it used to be.

"Alternatively, you could hop on my shoulder with your bag."

Judy's mouth curled down. That would be humiliating.

"Hey, don't worry, Fin and Duke do it all the time with me and Herb. The boss wouldn't admit it, but with his bad leg, we need to carry him for the longer treks." She extended a hoof to let her climb. "Plus it will make talking easier."

The bunny bit her lips. The elephant wouldn't be offering if she wasn't okay with being used as a ride. She climbed up and the elephant gently dropped her on her shoulder.

"So what's your story ?" Joan asked out of the blue.

Judy didn't really want to go in length about where she was coming from, so she opted for the short version. "I'm from Bunny-Burrow. I grew up there, spent most of my life there. I guess I wanted a change in scenery."

"Were you a farmer ?"

The bunny shook her head. "Not really. Part-time I would say. I was a lot of part-time things really."

"You were looking for your calling."

Sadness crept up in the back of Judy's mind. She knew what her calling had been. She simple had never been able to reach it. "I guess I was looking for something that would make me feel like… Well, like I was making a difference."

The elephant chuckled. "You might find that here. Taking care of this park is a pretty big responsibility. Wasn't it hard to leave the place you grew up in, though ? Or maybe you don't have family there anymore."

That was absolutely not the topic she wished to broach at the moment. "Both of my kids are in college, in the city."

"And they were your main reasons for staying. Got it."

"Yeah. Something like that." The bunny sighed.

"Bad break-up ?"

"Something like that." Judy evasively answered again.

The elephant stopped dead in her tracks. "He didn't die, did he ?" She asked worriedly "I'm sorry if it's a painful topic."

"He didn't die, but it actually is a painful topic."

The pachyderm exhaled in relief. "Good. Well not good, but you get it. I was worried I was putting my hoof in my mouth again."

"Don't worry, it's fine. Mostly. What is your story, then ?" She asked, to stir away the topic from her own life.

The elephant shrugged, which rocked the bunny up and down. She grabbed the large mammal's shirt to keep her balance. "There isn't much to tell. Dad was a cop, mom was a cop. Most of my grandparents were too. My two brothers followed the same path. I didn't."

"I feel like there is a little more to it than that."

Joan scratched her eyebrow with her trunk. "I'm the eldest sibling, so there were big expectations riding on me. I didn't really like that. I know they did it to motivate me, but they were always comparing my achievements with their own, trying to push me to do better than them."

"That's not a good situation to be in." Said the bunny with empathy, knowing full well how unpleasant it was to be pushed toward a path she hadn't chosen. A thing her own parents had done for years, even before the Inclusion Mammal Initiative had been disapproved.

"They even enrolled me into the ZPA prep' program without consulting me. They assumed I would just follow in their footsteps." Continued the elephant with a tinge of anger.

Judy cringed. Part of her felt jealous of Joan, for having thrown away a chance she had never gotten, but the other perfectly understood her coworker's situation.

"Fortunately, I had already found this job here. I threw every single beef I had with them in their faces and I just left. I've been working here ever since."

"So, that makes it…?"

"Seven years. Four more than Finnick, five more than Duke, three less than Herbert and the boss."

Judy lifted a brow. "I don't know if it's a social faux-pas to say that to an elephant, but you seem very young. How old are you ?"

"I just turned twenty-four."

She quickly made the math in her head. "You started working here at seventeen ?"

"Sixteen technically."

Legally, that barely held. "Didn't your parents try to break you contract and take you back home ?"

The pachyderm grinned. "They would have needed to know where I was. At first, I thought they'd send me back home but both the old Ramowitz and Nick were way too happy to have someone my size working for them, they weren't going to take the risk of seeing me leave. Things are always lagging behind here, administratively speaking or otherwise, so my contract might have taken two years to reach city hall. By the time it happened, I was eighteen, so… Not anything they could do about it anymore. We're on speaking terms again, but it took a few years to get there."

Judy's mouth had fallen agape. "You worked here illegally for two years ? And Nick condoned that ?" She was starting to have serious doubt about the fox's integrity. Having spent years with Gideon as her best friend, she had forgotten that the vulpines' reputation had to come from somewhere. She really hoped they hadn't used her situation to exploit the elephant.

"Not only did he condone it, he made it work. He covered every single legal angle and loophole. He set up a string of dummy bank accounts for me to be able to access the money they were paying me anonymously. He went to great length to help me hide from my parents. It was a bit strenuous to use, but he made a point for me to never lack anything. To be honest, I owe him more than he'll ever admit, and I'm pretty he'll never let me pay him anything back."

Judy was flabbergasted. Never in a million years she could have guessed the fox could be so generous with someone else. The way he had acted toward her was in total opposition with what she was hearing.

"That still sounds a bit fishy." The bunny said.

The elephant shrugged again. "It was, that's for sure. But once the boss considers you part of the crew, he'll do anything in his power to protect you. I never understood why him and Ramowitz were at odds. According to Fin, it's because of the Bellwether case…"

Judy raised a brow. "What would it have to do with him saving the city ?"

"He never talks about it, but I know some prey were less than happy about what him, Duke and Fin did… Ramowitz might have been part of these preys, but why would he have hired him if it was the case ? Or any predators for that matter ?"

"Have you ever asked him about it ?"

The elephant snorted. "First rule : you never ask about the boss's past. He'll tell you what he thinks you should know in his one time. I've gotten breadcrumbs here and there, things that showed that he could relate to what I was going through… Don't try to ask Finnick, he won't tell a thing. Even though I'm sure he knows everything."

"What about Duke ?"

The elephant snickered. "He'll give a lie so convoluted you'll forget about your question. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't know much anyway."

They had finally reached the river, and Judy could see all the logs spread on the river and caught in the net, as well as a bunch of them piled up on the shore. She wondered what she could do to help out the pachyderm, given her size and strength.

"So what's the job, exactly ?"

Joan glanced at he bunny. "I need to take these out of the water, and cut away the branches to make them easier to pile up."

"How did this happen anyway ? I don't see how the wind could push all these in the river."

The elephant put a knee to the ground and started trudging into the bag she had brought. She took out an old topographic map and laid it out on the ground. "See there ?" She pointed at a place upstream. "There are high hills with loose soil and dense vegetation. When it rains hard enough, the water can rise up to the top and take a lot of the trees with it. Fortunately, down stream, there's a sort of canyon where every smaller stream join up again. That's where we are, and where we set up the nets to catch the debris. There are actually other nets upstream, but I'm pretty sure half of them are busted. As long as we keep this place in working order, Zootopia should be fine."

The elephant put the bunny down and started rolling the legs of her pants up. "First, I need to check on the net and repair the holes-"

"I can do that." Proposed the bunny.

"The water rises up to my belly, you won't be in your depth."

"I know how to swim. And repair nets."

The elephant looked surprised. "You know how to repair nets ?"

"The result of twenty-years as a bun-scout, among other things."

Joan lifted a brow. "Why would bunny need to know how to repair nets ?"

Judy chuckled. "We had non-bunny members, and the ranger scout in chief believed we should broaden our skillset to accommodate for our newer recruits. Some of them even started wearing bunny-ears as a joke."

"Why didn't you changed the name then ?"

Judy chuckled. "We tried, but the ones wearing bunny-ears refused. They didn't want to give them up."

Joan laughed in turn before returning a more serious expression. She looked like she was thinking the bunny's offer over. Having Judy do that part of the job could save her up several hours of work at the very least. On the other hoof, it wasn't without danger. "Alright, give me a second." She said, looking inside her bag. When she turned to the bunny again, she was wearing shorts, a simple tank tops, and had a pair of diving goggles in her hands.

"What ?" Reacted the bunny at the elephant's confused expression. "You said we were going to the river, I came prepared."

The elephant nodded. "That you did. Put your belt back on, though. I'm going to secure you to a tree."

* * *

For some, the day had passed in a flash. Judy, Joan, Duke, Finnick and Herbert were chatting and bantering in the HQ's small garden, sharing their day while nibbling on some snack the bear had brought back from the kitchen.

Nick, on the other paw, had spent his head buried neck deep in paperwork, and his own thoughts. And of the two, the former were more pleasant. He reached the bottom of the stairs and heard his team banter. What better way to raise his mood than to spend a few minutes with them ?

"Hey guys, how was your day ?" He asked cheerfully, as he approached them.

Three things happened. One, silence fell instantly. Two, Finnick started to intensely glare at him. And three, the bunny looked like she was trying to disappear in her chair.

"Uhm. Fine Nick." Answered Duke. "Nothing to report."

"Yup." Confirmed Herbert.

"On my end, it was perfect. Judy was a big help, she fixed the net, and helped me cut out the small branches I had trouble with." Smiled Joan, glancing a Judy, expecting her to confirm.

Instead, the bunny was nervously playing with her ear, and kept her gaze away from her boss.

Nick's eyes fell on Finnick, who hadn't stopped glaring, and he didn't need a translator to understand he wasn't welcome. "Alright. Then good job everyone. I'll see you all in the morning." He stated, before retreating back to his office. So much for raising his mood.

Joan, Herbert and Duke exchanged perplexed look before Judy's voice cut through the silence.

"I'm going to go too. I'm feeling a bit tired." She hopped from her sit and started making her way to her room.

"What the hell is going on ?" Muttered Duke.

"Nothin' y'all need to worry about." Answered Finnick.

"Well, I'm worried." Stated Joan, raising from her own sit, and following the bunny. She reached her near the employee's housing unit. "Hey, Judy, wait !"

The bunny stopped but didn't turn around yet. Joan clearly saw her wiping her eyes. "What is it, Joan ?" She asked, finally turning around.

"Are you okay ?"

"Perfectly fine." Came the lie, badly hidden behind a fake smile. "Just a bit tired."

The elephant approached the bunny and put a knee to the ground. "It doesn't take degree in psychology to see you're not fine. I'm here if you need to talk."

Judy struggled to keep a straight face. All she wanted to do was to break into tears and pour out everything that was plaguing her mind. "Don't worry about me. I'm really fine."

The pachyderm decided not to insist on the topic. IF she needed to talk, the bunny would do it in her own time. "I'll still be here if you change your mind. Do you intend to take a shower this evening ?"

"Yeah. A cold one probably. I can't get the hot water to run." Judy answered, happy to switch topic.

"That's probably because your building's water heater is busted. It hasn't work in months. There is a shower next to Nick's office if you need it." Given the bunny's frown as a reaction to that news, it wasn't an option to her. "Alternatively, my caravan has its own independent hot water. It's megafauna sized, but I suppose you could use the sink as a shower."

"You live in a caravan ?" She reacted.

"Can't fit in the housing unit. I actually slept in a tent during my few first weeks here. Thazt was before they refurbished the first three levels into one. Buying the caravan was Nick's idea. It was less costly than building dependencies and I bought it from the department a few years back. That's my house on wheels. I sometimes house Herbert for the night when he's too tired to get home. So ?"

"I think I'm going to take you up on that offer." Answered the bunny. "Just give me five minutes to gather my things."

A few moments later, Joan could hear the water running in the small (at her scale) bathroom. Then under the sound of water, another strange sound appeared. At first, she thought the bunny had hurt herself, since it sounded life a cry, then she realised she was sobbing. Part of her wanted to go in and sooth the poor bunny, but barging in on a naked and crying coworker maybe wasn't the best way to be supportive. Instead, she directed herself to the kitchen corner to look for her smallest glass.

To Judy, the day had been very good. She had no problem with physical work, even if it had woken muscles she was rarely using anymore. But seeing her boss' face again had reminded her of his harsh words, and how some of them had rung way too true. Then the event of the day prior had come rushing back and her chest had been crushed by a tide of sadness, leaving her prostrated and sobbing in the elephant-sized sink she was using as a shower. After she had regained her senses, she had turned off the water and dried herself, before hopping from the sink to the door handle to open it.

"I've made hot cocoa, if you want." Came the elephant's voice. A hot beverage sounded pretty much perfect, and Judy smiled at the large mammal's thoughtfulness. She stepped on the offered hoof, and let herself be put on the table. The glass she was given was nothing more than whisky bottle cap, but it was still a bit big for her.

She sipped her drink, it brought some warmth to her and her thoughts.

"Whatever you're going through, it's going to be okay." Said the elephant with a supportive smile.

"Thank you." Judy answered meekly, both for the beverage and the encouraging words.


	6. Booting Process

_**Sapperjoe85 :** Thanks for the compliment. Joan, has a heart as big as her species suggest, for her and Judy to become friends only makes sense._

 _ **GhostWolf88 :** Will do, thank you._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** Glad to be back :D That would be a good thing for the two of them to accomplish all that, yeah, but they still have a few miles to go to get there..._

 _ **Venomheart the Dreamer :** Alright, this a lot, so let's answer this one each point after the other._  
 _I assume you're talking about chapter Chapter 3 – Meeting Her Heroes_  
 _First, I'm not sure the entirety of the chapter is made bad by a few parts borrowed from the movie, but that is my opinion, which I'm not expecting everyone to share._  
 _About swapping characters and reusing their dialogues on the confrontation at the museum : Only Bellwether had the same dialogue, you will have noticed that Nick didn't use any of his movie one-liners (as, to me, they were the product of the interactions between Nick and Judy)_  
 _I would admit I could have written it differently, but contrary to what you seem to believe it's more because of a lack of necessity than a lack of imagination. There wasn't much point in building a whole different situation for that confrontation and it would only have lengthened a scene that didn't need to be. So recycling a scene was not only a conscious choice, but also a way to show the situation more easily, as everyone knows that scene. Besides, I found it fun to rewrite a scene with different characters but leading to a somewhat similar outcome._  
 _I don't see what you mean about that bridge reference, as it's pretty much the same dialogue Nick uses in the movie (bridge, emotional squalor, and all). As for Nick living under a bridge, even the movie doesn't really say it. There is nothing under the bridge where Nick and Judy meet that would indicate the fox lived there… To me, it was just a place he hung out to be away from the world. So to be quite honest, I have no idea where you found that idea..._  
 _As for reusing Nick's dialogue, it was a last minute decision. I didn't need to do it, and it was a bit of a pain to readapt his rant to fit this story's situation._  
 _I hope these explanations satisfy you._  
 _Glad you liked Nick's reasons though._

 _ **AthroDragon :** They would be a long way from kissing. Maybe a reluctant handshake could work._

 _ **Cemsay :** Glad you like my story. I'll say it right now : Hoppsfinnick isn't going to happen. The rest is still open. Maybe HerbertXJudy, who knows..._

 _Sorry, this chapter's going to be short, I was sick as a dog the whole week, and I spent yesterday at Disneyland. For realsies. And it sucked. Big time_ _ _(I hate crowds, constant chatter and waiting in line. And I was still sick)_. But it was for a bachelorette party, so it was worth it._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Booting Process**

Nick's weary eyes opened to a white ceiling. He rolled to his side and noticed he was sleeping on a futon in his office. How he had found his way from the desk to his sleeping accommodations was a mystery, but one thing was for certain. He reeked.

The fox made his way toward the bathroom adjacent to his office, the only bathroom in that place with working hot water. Aside from Joan's of course.

As a way to speed up his brain's slow booting process, he began his shower ice cold. The he turned the hot water on. When his feet touched the bathroom tiles again, his stomach gurgled. Breakfast was needed. He put on a bathrobe, snatched his phone and cane, and glanced at the time.

"Shit." He muttered.

Having pulled yet another all-nighter, his sleeping pattern had been thrown further off. It was 11AM. When he reached the living/meeting room, he wasn't surprised to find it empty. He glanced through the window to see a tiny pair of feet sticking out of under the pick up truck hood. Finnick was already at work.

The fox entered the kitchen and grabbed the tiny folded ladder, using it to reach the counter and turn on a wolf sized coffee machine. Herbert had offered to look for a smaller one, but every single smaller mammal had refused. That coffee machine might have been a bit large to handle, but it contained the right amount of caffeinated beverage.

He grabbed a pack of biscuit and started nibbling on them while waiting for his coffee to heat up.

Then, he grabbed a mug, filled it to the brim and got down from the counter without spilling a single drop.

"So how're things ?" Came a voice from the next room. Nick stopped and side-stepped, before resting his back against the wall and sipping his coffee. Him and Fin' hadn't exchanged a word since he had lost his shit at the bunny, he didn't want to cut short the conversation he was having with whoever the other mammal was.

"Lonely." Came a flirty female voice Nick recognized as one of their common friend, Honey. "Since you and Nick left the city to install yourselves in this hole." She finished in a more even tone.

"I'm sure some fine badger like ya can easily find some other foxes to fill the void in her life." Finnick's voice was thick with undertone.

"I don't know, you've left a lot of empty space." She answered in the same voice.

Nick decided it was time to react before they decided to use the couch for another purpose than sitting. "Whatever you two are planning on doing, please don't make any stain in our workplace."

The fennec shot him a glare before hopping down from the couch. "See ya later Honey. I'll be in the parking lot if you're looking for me."

The large badger waved at the small vulpine as he left, before turning to the fox. They hadn't seen each other much, but she hadn't changed a lot in the last ten years. Maybe she was a bit more slouched and pudgy than before, but she still wore the same camo pants and tank top, with a sort of punkish (and very pink) hairstyle.

"You two not speaking ?" She asked.

"He's not speaking to me. I'm simply not trying to change his mind." Answered Nick. "How's your mom ?"

"Old and moody."

"She hasn't changed a bit then. Good to know the old Madge's still kicking."

"Good to know for you, you don't have to put up with her on a weekly basis." She grinned. "So, maybe we should get to work, I charge by the hour."

"The computer is upstairs."

The badger shook her head and opened her bag to take out a laptop. "Just give me the wifi password, I can do this from here."

The fox had the corner of a grin. "We don't have wifi."

"Are you shitting me ? Is this cabin a portal to the eighties ?" She gave ostentatious look at the room. "Given the interior, I looks more like the fifties. All right, show me the beast."

He led her back up to his office. When she finally saw the computer she started giggling, her laughter bordering on hysterical. "This thing is your computer ?"

"Looks like it."

"Cathodic screen, with a tower dating from..." She took a look at the stickers on the front. "The 2000's… If this is a windoe millenium, I'm not even touching the keyboard." She warned.

"What's so wrong with millenium ?"

"It's the benchmark for fail." She shot back, pushing the power button as she sat on Nick's chair. "Alright, Vista. That will have to do I guess. I suppose upgrading is out of the question ?"

"If we get through the next inspection, we might have some money for that, but it's not a priority."

The badger shrugged. "This thing is probably on its last leg. If you don't get it replaced, it's going to blow up in your face. I hope you do back-ups often."

The fox remained silent.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Nick. You know better than that ! Don't you even have a machine set up as a NAS ?"

The fox threw his paws up. "We don't even have an external hard drive. What do you want me to do ?"

The badger rolled her eyes. "There isn't anything else in this than text. This is your external drive." She said, dropping an usb key in his paw. "64gb, on the house. Don't thank me. Just buy something better."

Then, at last, the login screen appeared. "So you're trying to get a hold of the password. Can't you login as a guest ?"

"Not if I want to access this account's e-mails."

The badger nodded and plugged her laptop to the computer before running a software the tod didn't know. The several hours was filled with a badger's grumbling, and Nick working on paperwork next to her.

* * *

"Aaaaand done !" Announced the badger.

"You found the password ?"

Honey stared at him with a jaded expression bordering on disgust. "Please. That took me about ten minutes."

"WHAT ?"

"Calm your tail, foxy. I cleaned this thing up for you."

Nick raised a brow. "What do mean 'cleaned' ? I hope you haven't erased-"

"By my mom's tail, Nick ! I know what I'm doing ! This thing was so riddled with malware, spywares and trojan horses, I'd be surprised if my next HIV test didn't come back positive."

"What ?"

"Okay, to make it understandable with words you will understand : If this thing was a mammal, its leprosis would have smallpox."

"That's a mental image I didn't need. So you… Cured it ? From what ? Where did it come from ?"

The badger smiled broadly. "Pred-on-prey pornsites mainly, poor choices in torrents, and maybe a teensy little bit of aviaphilia surfing."

"Now, this is messed up." Winced the fox in disgust.

"And sadly, since I'm not accredited by the government, I doubt you will be able to use my little report to demolish your previous boss."

Nick exhaled dismissively. "He's retired, that wouldn't make much of a difference. With this done, I won't have to think about this prick ever again." He leaned over the desk and clicked the e-mail account. The amount of new e-mail was jarring. "Shit." He blurted.

"Wow, you got a metric-ton of work ahead of you. Sucks to be you."

"Yeah, I look forward to that… I'm starting to miss the outdoor part of my job."

"Why don't you give this to do to someone else ? You're the boss after all."

Nick gave her sceptical look. "Finnick would just throw it all in the bin and call it a day, Joan would panic, and she wouldn't fit in the office anyways. Duke would try but just screw it up since he doesn't know how to do it, and Herbert… Well, I had to buy him his first phone seven years ago, and I'm not sure he really know how to use it completely." The fox enumerated on his fingers.

"What about the bunny ?"

"Er…" Nick hesitated. "How much do I owe you ?" He asked, switching topic with the subtlety of a 40-ton lorry.

"One hundred bucks." She said, opening her paws expectantly. Nick dropped a fistful of cash in it.

"Here ya go."

She quickly counted the money. "There's too much." She said, handing him back a twenty he refused.

"Go buy yourself something nice." He smiled.

The notes disappeared in the mustelid's pocket. "Look at you, being generous and everything." She patted his shoulder. "These ten years walking straight really made a number on you, didn't they ?"

"What can I say. I have reformed."

"I think it suits you. And Fin' and Duke. That's a nice thing you did, giving them these jobs."

The fox raised his paws deflectively. "They were the right mammals for it."

"I know they were. You're still a good mammal, you should stop denying it." She smiled. "Now, if you don't mind, I have stuff to see and mammals to do."

Nick was looking through the window at the badger heading off toward her scooter. She stopped midway and turned toward the pickup truck Finnick was still working on. He saw them chatting a for a bit, and the badger pointing at his van with her thumb.

The fennec hopped down from the hood of the pick up truck and wiped his paws with a cloth, before opening his van backdoors to her, bowing to let her in, and closing them behind him as he followed her in.

Nick smirked and shook his head. "Mammals to do, huh ?"

Honey and Finnick had been on and off for years and it never worked. They tried to keep it casual, started to think they could make it work, and spent their time fighting. Then they broke off and didn't speak to each other for a few months. Rince and repeat every three years of the last three decades.

The red fox sighed and went to his computer. Now that he could access the files, it was a good time to take a look at Ramowitz's recruiting process. He made a quick search in the e-mail software with "application" as a keyword, and found around thirty answers.

He trudged through them, and really great profiles showed up. In fact, there would have been a few of them he would have invited to an interview given the opportunity. Nick was actually glad to have been able to bypass the ram when he had hired Finnick and Duke. He hadn't liked calling the favors needed to do so, but having mammals he knew, and liked, to rely on was better than having to get to know total stranger.

And Judy was a total stranger he hadn't even chosen. That wasn't an excuse for blowing up in her face and he knew it, but it was all the rationalisation he had.

He finally found the e-mail conversation between her and Ramowitz. He took a look at her résumé and didn't found it impressive. But not abysmal either. The twenty-years as a bun-scout were easy to check, as well as the degree in criminology (why would a bunny need a degree in criminology ?), for the rest, he supposed he'd have to take her word for it. After a quick reading of her cover letter,

he reached the conclusion that she was the naive bunny he had suspected (and accused) her to be, but she that she was also full of motivation and good will. And as he knew, skills could be taught, but not attitude.

He leaned back against his chair, knocking the back of his head against the frame with a sigh. The feeling of having been a dick went from nagging to harassing and he pinched the bridge of his muzzle.

There was a bunny he owed a big apology to, and he absolutely didn't feel ready to deliver it that evening. Or week. Or century.

* * *

The week passed slowly, while the ambiance gradually deteriorated. Finnick's open hostility toward their boss was starting to erode the other workers mood, and the fact that said boss and new bunny recruit seemed like they absolutely didn't want to be in the same room together.

What made the bubble burst, though was another problem altogether...

* * *

 _What ? Of course, I was going to end it on a cliffhanger. Have you not read my other stories ? :D_


	7. Apologies

_**Foxlover91** : I really like Honey, I kind of forced her into the story, but I'm glad I did._

 _ **Cemsay** : This isn't that kind of fic. But that's an idea I like. Maybe in another story._

 ** _GhostWolf88_ **_: I don't know, in most fanfic, they end up as friends (at the very least). Not that they won't here._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Apologies**

Judy was trying to enjoy her day off while napping on the garden grass, when, through the open window, she heard Joan enter the main building's living room. She knew Finnick was in there too, working on a cheap repair plan for the housing unit. She had brought the water heater issue to his attention, but there was a heap of other problems plaguing the place. The isolation was awful, the roof leaked during big rains, and the whole thing needed a new coat of paint. Or three.

"Hey, Fin, how's my favorite small mammals going." Judy lifted a brow. Joan sounded like she was (a bit clumsily) trying to be flirty. She knew she and Finnick were close, but she hadn't imagined anything like that was going on between the two.

"Judy should be around if yer lookin' fer her." Shot back the vulpine cheekily without missing a beat.

"Er, I was looking for you actually." She corrected.

The fennec grinned, having perfectly understood. "What d'ya need ?"

"I thought we could, you know… Hang out. We've barely seen each other for the last few days."

Finnick's first reaction was to smile. He was in the mood for anything but his current work, and spending some time with the (gorgeous) elephant seemed like a more pleasant use of his time. Then three things came to his mind. His roll in the hay with Honey, Nick's words, and how the two correlated. "Maybe later, I got some work to catch up on."

"Come on." She nudged his ear with her trunk. "It's not every day that I'm on a day off. And you're technically not on the clock either."

"Listen, sweetheart. I'd like nuthin' more to forget about 'dis thing and spend time wid'ya, but it's important."

The elephant was a bit taken aback by his polite rebuttal. "I'll keep you company then."

"As long as you can keep quiet, ya can put yer beaut- ya can sit anywhere ya want." He had almost slipped. Almost. But no flirting with the elephant.

She sat near him and let him work. The only noise in the room was the scratching of the pencil on the paper.

"Okay, what is going on ?" Joan finally asked with a tone oscillating between worry and suspicion.

Finnick winced. He knew his behaviour had changed toward her, as he had been actively trying to modify it. He had hoped she wouldn't have noticed, but he knew he wasn't being that subtle. "I'm working ?" Tried the fennec fox unconvincingly.

"I mean, what's going on with you ?"

"Work."

"Fin, for Ganesha's sake, I'm not an idiot." She stated, with a tinge of irritation. "Something's going on ! The new recruit's miserable, you're pissed at the boss, and he's… Neither you or him are being yourselves !"

"I'm feelin' like mahself, thank ya very much." Huffed the fennec fox dismissively, absolutely not enjoying the turn their discussion was taking.

"Even Duke and Herb are starting to take notice. And they're not the most perceptive about those things."

The fennec fox sighed. As long as Nick and Judy wouldn't talk things over, the situation would remain stuck. If the red fox didn't get it with the hard glares, maybe it was time to try something else. Like actually talking (or punching) some sense into him. She was right, something was going on. At least, he could stir things away from the stain in their own relationship.

"And I feel like you've been avoiding me too." She added in a hurt tone.

Or not.

That last sentence felt like a cold shower for him. "I'm not avoiding you." He half-lied since he wasn't really avoiding her, but rather avoiding being alone with her. Avoiding to climb on her shoulder in the morning, whispering stupid jokes when Nick wasn't paying attention. Avoiding to drop flirty comment when she was in the vicinity.

So, basically three-quarter of their social interactions.

"Did I say something wrong ? I mean, I know I can put my foot in my mouth sometimes, but you'd tell me right ?"

Judy slowly rose from her spot and started to move away. She wasn't sure where this discussion was headed, but she had a rough idea. Even though the most curious part of her burned to learn more, she had to give them the privacy they deserved.

"Of course I would tell ya ! You didn't do anything wrong, and even if you did, I'd never be pissed at ya ! Come on, we're friends, ain't we, big girl ?"

He noticed that her face fell a bit at his words.

"Am I being too much ?" She asked "I mean, it was always our thing, the jokes, the banter, the-" She exhaled slowly and finally said it, making her face heat up. "The flirting… If you want to put some distance, I get it."

"Joan..."

Her anxiety was flaring up, and even Finnick could see the signs. She put a hoof to her eyes. "I feel so stupid. I thought you liked me, you know ? Like, 'liked' me."

"Jo'-" He tried again.

"I mean, I knew there was the size difference, the species difference, the diet difference, the age diffrence, the fact that you are a coworker… Damn… It's really a lot when I say it out loud." She rambled, her voice breaking. "I'm such an idiot."

"Jo', please !" The small vulpine almost shouted. "It ain't that. It ain't you !"

"Don't serve me that, Fin-"

"No, listen ! I ain't good fer ya. Or anyone. You shouldn't try to get involved wid' me like 'dat."

"Well, maybe I want to, you know ? Maybe that's something you should talk to me about, instead of just ignoring me."

"I ain't good at talkin'." He said sullenly "Ya know 'dat."

"But I'm good at listening ! These big ears aren't there for nothing ! You could at least try to explain."

"There ain't nuthin' to explain." The fennec shrugged. "Nick's right about me. I don't commit, I don't stay, I shag around. I don't want ya ta feel like ya been used. Ya don't des-"

"What's that about Nick ?" She asked, cutting him. "What does he have to do with this ?"

Finnick's throat suddenly felt really dry. "Well, we talked the other night, and he told me about how I better not hurt ya. Ya know him, he's really protective of ya, and…"

* * *

Nick was supposed to not be working. He was supposed to use his day to relax and do something else than class and fill papers, or catch up on unread and unanswered e-mails. But hell wasn't the kind of place to offer respite. There ain't not rest for the wicked, as the saying goes. He couldn't stop while there was still so much to do.

"Hey Nick." The fennec's voice interrupted him in his work. Strangely, Finnick's voice contained no anger.

"Need something ?" Nick asked diplomatically.

"We'd like to talk to ya downstairs."

Nick sighed. Well, he couldn't put that off any further. He was glad enough that the bunny had kept his harsh (and unfair) words to herself, he wasn't about to deny her the apology she deserved, even though he was absolutely not ready to deliver it.

He stood up and took his cane, trying to reduce his limping as he headed toward the stairs, the fennec behind him. Making his way down, he was surprised to see Joan's large silhouette sitting on the sofa. Given that her and Judy had been working together since the beginning of the week, he wouldn't have been surprised if they had talked and gotten closer.

He was about to ask both her and Finnick to leave, as it was a conversation he'd rather have in private, until he noticed the bunny's absence.

Nick finally reached the center of the room, and the elephant stood up.

"Hey boss." She began.

"We talked about it, Jo'. I tolerate you calling me that at work, but off duty, you gotta call me Nick." The red fox smiled.

His first words made her smile and shake her head in spite of herself. She was supposed to be pissed at him, but it was Nick. The mammal she owed so much to.

"Okay, Nick. Finnick and me talked…" She began hesitantly.

"Yeah ?"

"And he might have said that you said to him that… "

She glanced at Nick, and even though he was keeping cool exterior, there was a hint of stiffness in his tail.

"Okay… Did you tell him to put distance between us ?"

She really was hoping for a no, but given Nick's discreet shifting, she was in for a disappointment.

"I didn't say it like that. It was more like a friendly reminder that he should be careful about what he's doing."

"Meaning ?"

"Meaning : not hurt you."

"Nick, Fin' would never hurt me."

The fox didn't like this conversation at all. Still better than confronting the bunny, though. He scratched the back of his neck, his gaze shifting to the fennec fox. "Not intentionally."

The elephant frowned. She was about to answer but the fennec fox started talking before she could.

"He's right, ya know ? I mean, I kind of have a record of screwing up with girls… I-"

"Fin." She cut him.

"Jo', list-"

"No, you two listen ! I'm a grown elephant, I've been working here for seven years, and I don't think I've ever asked for your 'protection'. I can take care of myself and take my own decisions."

"I know that Joan. We'd never have hired you if we didn't think you had the strength or maturity for-" Said Nick, trying to calm her down.

"You'd never have hired me if I hadn't been an elephant. It just happened that I was also strong and mature for my age." She corrected. "But I thought I had proved to you that I knew how to handle my life !"

"And you did ! I just… I just wanted what's best for you."

The elephant took a step back, looking like she had been slapped in the face. "Every time… Every single time I hear that phrase..."

"Joan-" Tried the red fox, but she raised a hoof and cut him.

"Nick, you know my story, you were there for me since I started working here, and you've done almost as much for me than my own parents, but out of everyone I know, I thought you'd be the last to take my choices away from me ! I already have a controlling father, the last thing I want is a second one !" She had almost shouted her last sentence, but she looked more like she was about to cry than to really get angry.

It was Nick's turn to take a couple of steps back. He was staring at her, his ears low, and his shoulders down, and for the quarter of a second, it felt like time had finally caught up to him. All Finnick could see was an old scared fox, hanging to his cane to keep standing. Then he blinked, and the image disappeared.

"I'm sorry." The red fox huffed after a moment of silence. "I'm sorry for putting my nose where it didn't belong, I'm sorry for what I said to Fin'. I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't trust you. I'm sorry for everything." It was the first time she had ever seen the fox contrite. Even if he was showing a brave front, he couldn't look up to meet her gaze. "You deserve- All of you deserve better from me."

Finnick and Joan glanced at each other, both of them sharing the same surprised expression. The both of them could count on one paw or hoof the number of times they had heard Nick genuinely apologized.

She put a knee to the ground and gently patted his shoulder with her trunk. "Apology accepted Boss."

Nick chuckled. He had heard the emphasis on his title. If it was her way of getting back at him, he could live with it.

"See that ain't so hard." Chuckled the fennec fox.

"To apologize ?" Asked Nick

"To not be a dick. Now why dontchu stop bein' an idiot and go be apologetic the othah' one tha' deserve it."

"What is it about being apologetic to someone else ?" Asked Joan inquisitively.

The fox turned and took a few steps toward a windows, his gaze straying on the treeline. Thinking about the bunny sent him right back the mountain of problems he was facing, and at the very soon to be surprise inspection the department would have to face.

"Nick ?" Asked Joan again, somewhat worriedly.

"I screwed up. With the bunny."

"Her name's Judy." Corrected Finnick.

"I screwed up with Judy." He said again.

"Yeah, you blew all yo' stress an' frustration in 'er cute little face. For no fuckin' reason."

Nick's tail flicked in irritation. "Not a reason to rub it in."

"Isn't it, though ?"

The fox almost chuckled at the bitter taste of his own medicine. "Dick."

A firm trunk came to rest on his shoulder. "Well, maybe you should go apologize to her too."

Nick turned around and pushed the appendage away. "Not right now. I wouldn't even know what to say."

"How 'bought what ya feel, for a change ?" Asked the fennec.

"Alright. Let's go." Said the elephant, approaching her trunk to him again.

Nick took a step back. "I said not right now." He tried to fence the insistent trunk away with his cane again, as the elephant didn't back off, but she simply grabbed it and tossed it to Finnick.

"And I said, let's go."

Of all situation the pachyderm could choose to get assertive, it had to be this one.

"Joan, I swear to- Put me down ! Put me down right now !"

She was holding him up by the scruff of his neck and had started walking toward the exit as he flayed around. "I'm afraid you're not my boss on my day off, Boss." She said.

"Fin', do something !"

"Fin's not going to do anything he wants to go on a date with me." She smiled, though the fennec could see her blush hard at her own audacity.

"We're going on a date ?"

"Well… If you want. I mean, you don't have to, but…"

Nick was still trying to pry himself off from the pityless trunk. "Don't listen to her, Fin'. She's an elephant, you can't afford it !"

"We don't have to eat out." She said, hoping real hard the fennec could hear the tinge of desperation in her tone.

"I'd be happy to eat ya- to take you to eat out." Fumbled the fennec as they arrived in front of the bunny's door.

* * *

Judy was still thinking about the snippets of conversation she had heard. Was there something between the fennec fox and the elephant ? Part of her found it extremely weird. How did it make sense on a size point of view ?

Maybe it was because she was a bunny, but she couldn't stop herself to try and think about the logistic of such a sexual encounter. In the past few years, there had been more and more pred-prey couple, but few could be as different.

Another thing about it that she found funny was that in most situations, mammal tended to think the predator might be pressuring the prey into the relationship, but in this situation, it would be ridiculous to think so.

It sent her back to her old crush to Gideon. How much things could have been different if she hadn't accepted to step down for Hester. Maybe he would have been a better fit than Ethan, maybe she would have been as miserable and she would still be in the same situation now. She wouldn't have had kids though…

She took out her phone and looked at its wallpaper. She hadn't changed it, and it still was the last collective selfie she had taken before Ethan and Katie had left for zootopia.

She and her ex-husband were cheek against cheek, their faces between their children's ears, all of them wearing wide happy smiles.

Looking at her own face, she couldn't say her smile was fake or forced. She truly looked happy. Her throat tightened. Why did she throw it all away ? Why had she thought she could have something better than this ? Even if she didn't feel like she belonged there anymore, at least they believed she did.

A commotion outside her small apartment cut her thought process. The door was flung open and a red fox was almost thrown in, scrambling to keep his balance with his cane in his paws, before the door was slammed shut by a trunk behind him.

The fox dusted himself off and looked up at her.

"Hey." Was the only sound that could escape his lips, while his eyes tried to settle on anything but her.

"What do you want ?" She asked, unable to make her voice free of hostility.

"I'm sorry." He muttered. Unsurprisingly, this apology was even harder than the previous one, as this time, he couldn't try to hide behind good intentions. And he couldn't hope to be forgiven because of them either. The fox drew a breath. Saying that he was sorry wasn't enough. He owed her an explanation. "I'm sorry for losing my patience at you. I'm sorry for shouting at you. I'm sorry about every single thing I said to you. The thing is, and you need to know that I don't think it's an excuse, I've been trying to salvage all this for months. And I was tired, and angry, and…"

The fox sighed and took a step forward. He lifted a paw, before drawing it back. "There is nothing I could say now that could make anything I said then even remotely right. I'm just a stupid old angry fox that you happened to meet on his wrong lifetime. Just know that I won't throw any more shit at you, and that I know I deserve every single thing you'll throw at me. I would ask you to stay, as I know Joan and Finnick like you, but if you want to leave, I'll write you a recommendation letter for any work you'll want."

He finally dared look up to meet her gaze. She was staring at him blankly.

Nick waited for an answer for a full minute. "Okay." He sighed, turning around.

"You were right." He heard. "About me being a naive stupid hick. About my mid-life crisis. About me trying to find a new life elsewhere. That's why it hurt." Her voice started to break and the fox didn't dare to turn around. "I threw away a life it took me twenty years to build because it didn't feel like enough. I abandoned a husband that loved me because I couldn't bring myself to love him like he deserved. I left behind every single mammal I've ever known for a chance to feel like I amounted to… Something." He could hear the tears rise in her voice. He clenched his teeth, feeling even more guilt that before. "Because, somehow, I've always thought I could make a difference. As if I was special in any way. I'm just a screw up unable to accept that she had wasted her life."

Nick had moved without thinking. His cane clattered to the ground as he wrapped his arms around the bunny. He though she was going to push him back, but he felt paw on his back as she pressed herself further against his chest. It almost made him lose his balance, but he managed to sit them both on the bunny's bed.

"I'm just a dumb bunny." She sniffled.

"No you're not. I'm the dumb fox." He heard himself say. "Don't ever let people tell you that you can't be something, especially not me. Don't lock yourself in the role people think you should have. I don't know the first thing about you, but I know you can be more than you think." She felt his paw stroke her ears soothingly. "You were right to come here, and I was wrong to reject you. If you're willing to give me a second chance, I promise I'll do everything in my power to make you feel like you belong here."

The sobbing intensified before subsiding. She was shaking a bit and as he looked down, he saw her pull her face from against his chance. "I suppose I can try." She said, with a smile that made his heart skip a beat, before burying her face back in his chest.

Her tears were drying up, and she was finally able to unstuck herself from him.

"You give great hugs." She said, trying to say something that would keep awkwardness to creep up on them.

"You're not so bad either."

"Heh. You should try that I'm not being a crying mess." She smiled, while picking up his cane, and giving it to him.

"I might take you up on that offer." He shot back, pulling a giggle from her.

The fox shifted awkwardly again, not knowing what to do next.

"I knew you couldn't be all bad." She said.

"Because I was your hero ?"

She giggled. "For that reason too. But no. Because of my best friend."

"You're going to have to explain that one."

Judy took her phone and tapped the screen a few times, digging out some photos. "Here."

Nick looked at it, and was surprised to see a selfie with her and another fox. The chubby vulpine was holding a straw hat in one of his paw and a shy smile was on his face. She was holding one of his overalls braces, and he had a paw over her shoulder. "Wow, I know that sounds a bit backward coming from a fox but I didn't expect this."

"No one did, really. He was a bit of a jerk when we were kids."

Nick's brow furrowed. "He doesn't look the type. Must have had a hell of a makeover."

Judy nodded. "You don't know how right you are. He's actually the one who gave me these." She brushed the fur of her cheek to show a pair of thin scars.

The fox approached his paw without really thinking and ran his thumb on them. "He wasn't messing around. And you two became best friends ?"

Judy blinked a couple of time, a bit dazed by the contact of Nick's paw. "Yeah. It was a long process, but he changed a lot. He's the nicest fo- No he's the nicest mammal I know."

"That's high praise coming from someone that probably has thousands of siblings." Smirked the fox. His quip earned him a punch to the shoulder.

"It's hundreds. We bunnies aren't that good at multiplying." She frowned, event though there was a glint of amusement in her eyes.

Nick chuckled and tapped the 'home' icon on her phone as he was giving it back to her. The picture of her and her family appeared as her wallpaper.

Judy scotted away and rested her back against he pillow, her feet leaving the floor. "Yes, I do have children." She answered to the question he hadn't asked. "And an ex-husband." She added, her ears dropping.

"Bad breakup ?"

"I… Dumped him."

"Takes courage."

"After twenty-years of marriage."

Nick raised his brows. "He must have done something really bad-"

"He did absolutely nothing." She cut him a bit defensively. "I told you, you were right about me. I left because I wanted to be something else."

Nick sighed and turned, his feet leaving the floor as he sat to face her. "Well, I suppose you're in the right place. We all wanted… Or needed to be something else. I'm an ex-hustler that was forced to get his act together for instance. Fin' was my partner, as you probably know if you're such a fangirl." He smirked.

"And Duke was the 'Duke of bootleg'." She air quoted. "I know about Joan's past too."

The fox gave her an appreciative smile. If Joan had opened up to her that easily, the bunny had to be something special.

"As for Herbert..." She continued. "I have no idea. All I know is that he doesn't like to be made fun of."

Nick raised a brow. "Oh ? How so ?"

"Finnick made a crass joke, he didn't take it well. But they were talking again the next day, so I suppose it's resolved."

"What kind of joke ?"

"He said that since Joan's a female, and bigger than him, he had to feel emasculated..." She explained, blushing a bit.

"Oh… Herbert can take a joke, but just not in that area." She gave him and inquisitive look but he shook his head. "Not saying more. This is his business."

The bunny's ears dropped, but she decided not to pry. "What is it about Mr Ramowitz trying to screw you over ?" She asked bluntly completely switching topic

"Nepotism."

The bunny frowned. "What do you mean ?"

"I didn't get a job here on my own merit. It was a favor from good old Lionfart." Explained Nick. "And getting Fin and Duke recruited… Well it basically was more of that. Crapowitz didn't like having a fox dumped on him, he didn't like that I got half of his team fired for… Different reasons. And he liked even less that I got them replaced by 'shifty predators'." He air quoted. "And yeah, before you ask, I didn't fabricate anything. The two assholes I got fired deserved it. And I wouldn't have recruited my friends if they weren't cut out for it. But yeah, he hated my guts."

"Why did you want to work here in the first place ?"

That question threw him back in memories he had hoped to forget. A junior scout ranger uniform, his mom's proud smile, the light of a flame, a muzzle being forced on his face. The shadow of sadness passed on his features. "An old dream, I guess." He evasively answered.

"I know a thing or two about old dreams." The bunny muttered. "Nick… I think I'm going to stay. You need another pair of paws, and if this place is as important to you as finding a new life is for me, I want to help. I mean, maybe I was recruited because Mr Ramowitz wanted to hinder you, and maybe that means that I'm underqualified-"

"Yeah, trust me Carrots, you're not."

The bunny frowned at the nickname but shelved that concern at the moment. "But I'm starting to realise how much this place means for you all. I promise I won't disappoint you."

The fox nodded. Somehow, he knew she wouldn't disappoint him. "That's good enough for me." Silence started growing between them, and there wasn't much more to say. "I'm really sorry to cut this short, but… Well this was kind of unplanned, and I still got work to do."

"Joan made you apologized, didn't she ? I saw her trunk close the door." The bunny grinned.

"Carried me by the scruff of my neck like a kit. Yeah, laugh it off." He smiled while she started giggling. "I would have come eventually. I'm glad she forced me."

"So am I."

The fox go down from the bed and directed himself toward the door. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

He shot her a last glance as he left the room. She was smiling at him warmly, and he felt a small weight being lifted from his shoulder.

* * *

 _We're about halfway through ! Bear with me._


	8. The Slap

_**Franzipan :** Hey, I'm the one doing the bad puns here !_

 _ **Guest :** Still debating the ending (it's drafted but not definitive)._

 _ **Wolfrider3000 :** Neither can I. Oh wait..._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** It's more of a band-aid than a real patch at the moment. But time will heal (let's hope)._

 _ **GhostWolf88 :** The future will bring pain and tears. We're in one of my fics after all._

 _ **Saperjoe85** : Thanks, but he isn't done apologizing just yet._

 _ **Altair1812 :** I caught my foot on my romantophone. Won't happen again._

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - The Slap**

Nick was sipping coffee in the main room while he waited for his employees to show up. For once in a very long time, sleep had come easily.

The entry door creaked on his hinges. "Good morning Nick." Came Fin's deep voice.

"Morning pal." The tod answered. "We're talking again ?"

"Since you've stopped bein' a shithead, yeah, we are."

Nick chuckled. "Shit, I can't even say I don't deserve your snark."

"Dude, if there's to be some sorta justice, I owe ya 'bout 35 years of snark." The fennec fox shot back, before directing himself toward the megafauna sized sofa, using the plaid on it as a rope to get on it.

"I see you've woken up before your girlfriend. That's pretty rare."

The fennec fox squinted at the other tod. "She ain't my girlfriend. Are you going to use that as joke fodder against me ? Cuz' she wouldn't like 'dat."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I could get her on board if it meant teasing you." Smirked Nick, while inspecting his claws.

The door opened again, to show the related pachyderm large frame. "Hey you two." she greeted. Joan purposely sat next to Finnick, making the cushion tilt, which made him slide against her in turn. Nick drowned his large grin inside his coffee cup.

Using her arm, the fennec fox climbed up to her shoulder, looking way more bashful than he usually did. Observing them, Nick noticed that the elephant was blushing too, probably because the both of them had indirectly admitted their attraction to one another.

"Heya guys." Came Duke's voice from the door. He was perched on Herbert's shoulder, which nodded in turn. The both of them were followed by Judy, who looked in a relatively good mood, even if she retained a general air of sadness. Nick almost missed her stiffen up when their gaze met.

"Hey Duke. Grunt. Carrots." Greeted Nick in turn. "Grunt, would you mind bringing the coffee pot and mugs for everyone ? I'd have done it but with bad leg..."

"Sure Boss." Nodded the ursid, making his way toward the kitchen, while Duke nimbly jumped from his shoulder to the sofa's backrest.

The bunny frowned. For a couple of moment, Judy wondered if it was some kind of power trip from Nick to ask Herbert to bring back the coffee pot. She knew he could stand and walk without his cane, and he probably had been waiting for them to show up. Then, the brown bear came back with a coffee pot that could have easily fitted a medium sized mammal in it.

The ursid then proceeded to pour coffee for everyone, even in the smaller mammals' mugs, without spilling so much of a drop.

"Okay, so first things first." Began the fox. "Judith Hopps, new recruit." He saw her tense up as he mentioned her name. "I know she's been with her for a bit yet, but for several reasons-"

"Mainly you being an idiot." Cut Finnick with a smirk, pulling a giggle from Joan.

"Trunks, keep your boyfriend on a tighter leash, will you ?" Shot back Nick without even looking at him. Joan coughed in her mug and the two mammals instantly fell silence and began blushing even harder than before.

"As I was saying, for several reasons, I haven't come around to properly present you. So Judy, could you please tell us a bit about yourself ?"

The bunny stood up a bit straighter. "Well… My name is Judith Hopps, but you all know you can call me Judy. I'm from Bunny-Burrow, I have two kids, and very large number of siblings… I have a degree in Criminal Law..." At that, all mammals present lifted their brows. It was a very unusual carrier pursuit for a bunny. " and Administration as well as twenty years of experience as a bun-sco- ranger scout. I also worked in the tri-burrows firewatch for ten years."

"Tha's a hell of a résumé." Commented Finnick. "She might be the most qualified mammal working here."

"Really ?" Reacted Judy. "I mean, I'm not even experienced at that kind of job."

Duke smirked. "Heh, none of us were, lady. As I heard, Trunks got the job because we needed muscle. The fact that she was far from a half-wit was just a bonus. As for me and Fin', we were just lucky that Nick isn't above favouritism."

"I wouldn't have hired you two if I didn't think you'd make the cut." Remarked Nick before turning toward the bunny again. "But, yeah, you're technically more qualified to do my work than I am. Speaking of which…" The fox raised a finger. "I need to take this out of the way : this isn't a democracy. It doesn't mean I don't want your input, in fact I require it, but in the end, I'm making the calls. If you have a doubt, call me on my phone or use your radio, but as a rule of thumb, use common sense. A few words about the lower levels of hierarchy : I don't care about them. As he has the seniority, Herb' is technically the boss when I'm not available, but it's more of a legality than anything else."

The bear nodded at that. He wasn't the kind to want more responsibility.

"I'd rather have you shoot your question at Joan, as she knows more about the MPRD than anyone else, so if you have questions go ahead and ask her. As for everyone's role…" He pointed at Duke.

"I'm in charge of stock and logistics. I buy stuff for cheap." He said proudly.

"Reparations mainly." Stated Herbert.

"My job is mammal safety. I also dabble in finance." Said Joan.

"Reparations too, plus I'm the unofficial MPRD head mechanic. And driver too. Oh, and legal counsel, kinda..."

"Of course, I expect everyone to perform their duties as rangers too." Added Nick. "That counts for me too as I'm the superintendant. As for you, you've been hired to be an intendant. This degree in administration will come very handy." He clapped his paws. "Now that the presentations are done, Duke, hit me."

"I made the list of stuff I need." Stated the weasel, getting a folded paper from his pocket. "Pipes, both copper and PVC, plus welding wire. We're going to need tiles for the roofs, especially now that one of the new room is occupied, and a heap of other things."

"You still have your connections. Go work'em."

"Aye-aye sir." Jokingly answered the weasel.

"Legal connections. I'll need receipts." Added the fox. "And run it by me before buying."

"Killjoy."

Nick winked. "You know it. Take Grunt with you to carry the stuff. Trunks, still on river duty ?"

"Still, yeah. This is taking longer than I expected, but Judy is being a big help."

Judy couldn't stop the proud smile that plastered itself on her face. Having her effort acknowledge felt good.

"Then, I hate to break a winning team, but I'm going to have to. I'm going to introduce her to the hell that has been my world for the last two months."

"Still ain't too late to quit, bunny." Smirked Finnick.

"I never quit." Judy shot back. "Not anymore." She added quietly to herself.

"Tha's the spirit. As for me, I think I'm going to try and take a look to at the water-heater in the housin' unit. If she's gon' stay here, she's gonna to need it." He said, pointing his thumb at Judy.

Nick nodded. "Good. Everyone knows their job, now get to it. Chop-chop." They all set their mugs down and Joan brought everything back to the kitchen before following her colleagues out.

"So it's just you and me, Carrots." Said Nick, before taking a couple of steps toward the stairs.

"What is it with the nicknames ?" She asked as she followed him. The question was innocent, but there was a sort of animosity in the bunny's attitude.

The fox shrugged. "That's just my thing."

"Why Carrots ?" Nick didn't miss the tinge of aggressivity under the curiosity.

"You grew up in Bunny-Burrow, so…" He smirked.

"Oh, that's very clever." She answered in an unimpressed tone. "What about 'Grunt' ?"

"Herbert used to only grunt as an answer. The words started coming out about two years after he was recruited."

"And Trunks ?"

"Take a guess."

The bunny rolled her eyes. "Because of the trunk… That's very-"

"Wrong." The fox kept smirking. "She wear trunks as underwear."

The bunny gave him a shocked look. "How do you know that ?"

"Because when she lived in the room downstairs, she sometimes forgot to dress up before attending the meetings. Still does with the caravan sometimes, to Fin's greatest joy." He answered without an ounce of shame.

"Do Finnick and Duke have nicknames ?"

Nick ran a claw between his fangs. "Finnick's already a nickname. I have no idea what his real name is, and believe it or not, it's the name he used on his contract. And Duke… Well, I used to call him Q-tip, back then when we were only unfriendly acquaintances. It was supposed to be demeaning, so I only use it tease him. Besides, I think Duke is an awesome name for a Weasel." The tod grinned. "You can tell him, he'll never believe I said that." He opened his office door to let her in. "Is calling you Carrots demeaning ?"

"I don't know Slick, what do you think ?" She asked, mirroring the grin he was wearing, though he could feel a tad of rigidity in her attitude.

"I think it suits you well, Carrots."

* * *

It was hell indeed, but not as much as the bunny had feared. At first, she had thought the tod's office was in total chaos, but as it happened, each time she needed a specific form or paper, he was able to direct her to the right one.

She soon realised it wasn't so much chaos, but rather a very strange form of organization. Between the regulation forms dating months back, labor agreements that had never been implemented to their department for almost a decade, they had their work cut out for them.

"So what was it about an inspection ?" Asked the bunny, while unceremoniously dropping a pile of filed paper on the tod's desk. It made him lift a brow.

"Around every four years, city hall sends external inspectors to all their branches to take a look and make a report. Last time that happened, I had one of Ramowitz's employees fired. I had collected so much proofs of his misdoing it should have been an open and closed case." Nick answered, while continuously typing away.

"Why wasn't it ?"

The fox shrugged dismissively. "A shifty fox was the one that came forward with everything, Arthur Ramowitz's name still had a bit of weight, the employee in question had a way to shift blame on everyone else… And the inspector might have been one of Ramowitz' close friends, a bull named Oxley... The guy wasn't to clever. Problem was that he was gullible, or just specist enough, to believe every nonsense Crapowitz' employees told him. Most of the time, just saying something that aligns with what the other wants to hear will be enough to fool them… Anyway, in the end, I might have slipped an e-mail to some mammals I know in the government to have more impartial set of eyes in the matter and speed things along."

"If you have so much connections, why don't you use them to protect yourself ?"

"Because I don't want to play that card if it's completely unfair to do so, and even if I didn't care about that, it wouldn't be enough to cover my mistakes. We toe the line, but we don't cross it."

The bunny was completing an unfinished form thanks to some paper Nick had finally been able to print. "And recruiting your friend isn't crossing the line ?" Her tone was slightly accusatory, which ruffled him the wrong way, but he couldn't blame her for being sceptical. He still added it as a note for later.

"As I said before, they were qualified. Maybe less than others, but still."

"Didn't they have jobs ? I mean, why would they leave everything to come here and work for you ?" She inquired.

The tod lifted his face from his work. "Are you implying I'm not a great boss ?"

"I haven't formed an opinion yet. And you haven't really answered my question." She answered neutrally.

"They had jobs, just very shitty ones. Finnick was still running cons, Duke was… Er… Acquiring and making deals on pharmaceutical products for third parties." She was about to go back to her own work when the fox spoke again. "So, no opinion ? Really ?"

The bunny shook her head. "Not at all."

"You know I'm not above nepotism, I didn't have any hesitation about going after the mammals that I couldn't stand, have been at odds with me previous boss since I had been hired, trashed you for no reason…" He enumerated on his fingers. "You're not going to make me believe you don't have an opinion about me."

The bunny was taken aback. Said like that, it sounded like a lot. "Mr Wi-"

"Isn't it 'Slick' to you ?" He smirked.

The bunny huffed. Was he being standoffish on purpose ? "Slick..." She began, trying to find her words. "I don't have a low opinion of you."

"Yes you do. And you're still pissed at me."

She was expecting to see him smirk, but his smile had shrunk down to mild.

"Maybe a bit…"

Nick shook his head with a chuckle. "You don't have to pretend not be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"No one gets treated like you were by me without carrying a grudge. That just doesn't happen."

"Nick-"

He lifted a paw. "Carrots, just because you want to forgive me, doesn't mean you have yet. I see you're still upset. I mean, I see how rigid you've been since we've started working together…"

"I'm not rigid !" She protested, getting up from the floor with a scowl.

He made finger pistols at her. "And there it is."

"There is what ?" She asked, her fist on her hips.

Nick crossed his fingers on his desk a stared at her knowingly.

At first, she couldn't understand what the fox was getting to. Then she remembered her attitude toward Gideon as he was trying to patch things up between them. She had met him with rebuttal, but over time, she had realised his effort were genuine. The only difference here, was that Nick was deliberately pushing her to make her anger come out. Pushing her was a big word, it had been more like nudging. She had been more than rigid, if she was honest with herself.

"You're right. I'm still mad at you." She sighed. "I don't want to, but I still am."

"Be mad then. I deserve it. It's healthy to be angry sometimes. You shouldn't bottle up your feelings."

"But you apologised." She protested.

"Genuinely might I add. But sometimes apologizing isn't enough."

The bunny's ears dropped. "It should be."

Nick chuckled. "Ha ! Really ? If Bellwether had apologized for what she had done, should she deserve to be forgiven ? If every mammal that had ever singled us out because of our species apologized, do you think they should be forgiven ? You're way nicer than me, Carrots, but I still doubt you could do it. I'll simply have to make it up to you. Somehow."

The bunny huffed, she couldn't say he was wrong, but he was a bit too smug about it. "You think you know how everymammal work, don't you ?"

"It was my bread and butter for years, Carrots. Of course I do. The fact that I have an inkling on how you think doesn't make you a lesser mammal." The fox had stood up from his chair, and had started walking around his desk toward her. "The thing is, even if you're still upset with me, it won't change the fact that I'll try to make you feel welcome. If what you need of me is to stay away, you just gotta ask."

Judy scratched her arm and looked away. "I don't want you to stay away. I think if I got to know you better, I could tolerate you." The shadow of a smile followed her little jab.

"Tolerate, huh ? Guess I deserved that. That's all that could help ?"

Judy answered with a nod.

"Don't you want to shout at me ?"

She shook her head.

"Or to make a strongly worded comment ?" There was some snark in his voice, but to not as much as honesty.

"You'd let me berate you ?" She asked.

Nick shrugged. "If it helped." He couldn't stop the hint of smugness in his voice. The fact that the bunny seemed so surprised didn't help.

"Right now, I mostly want to slap away that smug grin." She smiled.

Nick cocked his head, before planting his cane to the ground in front of him to stabilize himself. "Go ahead."

Judy blinked a couple of times, taking in what he had just said. "I was just joking."

"No you weren't." The smug grin was still there.

She wanted to deny it, but part of her actually did want that. He truly was infuriating when he wanted to be. "It doesn't mean I'll do it."

"Still above hitting a cripple ?"

"I'm sorry I called you a cripple." She muttered, her ears falling. "And I'm still not slapping you."

Nick's grin grew smugger. "I know at least a hundred mammals that would dream to be in your place right now. Do it for them."

"Nick..."

"Come on, you know you want to." If his grin grew wider, it would probably split his head in halves.

"Do I know that ? Yes, yes I do." She grunted under her breath. "Don't tempt me…"

"I'm literally asking for it, Carrots."

"Alright."

Her paw shot quicker than he had expected, but he wasn't going to try and evade anyway. She had jumped to make it easier for her paw to connect with his face, and when it did, he couldn't help but spin and fall on one knee. "Woah, Carrots, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of your punches." He said, a bit groggy.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers, I didn't think I'd hit you so hard." She rushed to his side to help him stand back up. "Are you okay ?"

The fox wiped his mouth with the back of his paw and found some blood on it. "I've had worse. Do you feel better ?"

"Kinda…" She admitted shamefully. "At least the smug is gone."

"Careful with that kind of comment, it could come right back." The fox put a paw to his jaw. "I'm going to need and ice-pack."

"I'll go fetch one." Judy proposed, stepping toward the door.

"Don't bother going downstairs, I have my own fridge, there should be some in the freezer."

There indeed were ice packs, as he sometimes used them on his knee at the end of a long day.

"I'm sorry." She said as she handed him the cold pack.

"Don't be. Really. It'll teach me to try to act cool at my age." Smiled the fox.

* * *

The afternoon went by relatively quickly, and they were about to call it a day when a knock came from the door.

"Come in." Called Nick.

The door opened and Finnick appeared. He was wearing a strange expression between meek and determined. His eyes went from Nick to Judy and he sighed. "Nick, I have something to ask ya."

"Do you want me to leave you two alone ?" Asked Judy, who had noticed his behaviour.

"Nah, you might actually be of better counsel than'im."

"Hurtful." Commented the red fox. "What did you need ?"

The fennec fox shifted from what foot to the other. "Well, as you know, I want to take Jo on a date, and I've no idea where to. Or when, since we are pretty swamped at the moment."

Given Judy's presence, Nick refrained himself from telling where he could 'take' her. "Why don't you bring her to one of you usual dives. They're mostly decent."

Finnick lifted a brow. "I ain't just lookin'to get us tipsy and ready for a good shag. This a date, as in 'proper date'. Not that ya'd know anything about that."

Nick smirked and turned his gaze back to the computer screen. "Here goes my motivation to help you out."

"Aw come on ! Don't be like that ! Help a brotha' out !"

"Take her to the Palm hotel, then. She'll probably love it." Suggested Nick.

The small vulpine groaned. "I don't have three months of salary to blow on one meal. Unless you're going to give me a raise."

"I know for a fact that you have way more than tree months of salary saved up. I'm a bit disappointed that you wouldn't be ready to spend that on Joan. I don't know If I could let you take my little girl to the prom if you act so cheap." Nick snarked, relishing Finnick's blush.

"Why are we fuckin' friends again ?"

"Because you love me."

Finnick glared at Nick while the red fox kept his half-lidded eyes trained on him.

"You're going to want a place that can accommodate both small mammals and megafauna. As a vulpine, you can easily go a meal or two without touching meat, so any restaurant like that might do. You could go for a restaurant that serves both herbivores and carnivores, but I suggest avoiding those that serve fish." Judy said.

The vulpines started staring at the bunny.

"What ? I have carnivores friends. Getting out to eat together was always a challenge."

"I didn't say anything." Said Nick. "Please resume."

Judy glanced from one mammal to the other before proceeding. "I don't know much about Joan, but she doesn't seem to be the type appreciate big gestures, so aim for something nice but cheap. She seems shy, and if it's a date, I'd suggest finding a place which is friendly to interspecies couple. I don't think she'll be comfortable if all eyes are on the both of you. So, maybe something cozy… Alternatively you could just cook for her."

Nick snickered. "Finnick cooking. Yeah, right." Before pulling his wallet from his pocket and trudging inside it.

"Ya could stand to be helpful instead of snarky." Reacted Finnick.

The red fox pulled out a business card from his wallet and gave it to his friend. "I think Carrots is exactly right about every single thing she just said. Call this place, I know for a fact they can accommodate elephants. I'd suggest making a reservation though, they tend to be full in the evening. Don't hesitate to drop my name, that should move things along."

Judy wondered why the fox would have the card for such a place. After a few seconds of thinking, she blushed slightly. The answer was obvious.

Finnick glared at his best friend. "You could have just led with that."

"But where would be the fun ?"

Finnick pocketed the card. "Thanks, I guess." He said, before leaving.

After the small vulpine had disappeared, Judy turned toward Nick. "Did you really have to rile him up like that ?"

"Did I ? Oh yes, yes I did."


	9. Forgiveness

_**GhostWolf88 :** Sometime, I get an idea for a scene, and I try to get it to fit the story. This one of those instances._

 _ **Sapperjoe85 :** Honestly, the hardest part was to get the OC to fit. My favorite is Joan. I love this bumbling mess of a pachyderm (maybe I read Elephantmen too many times)._

 _ **Cemsay :** Speaking of which..._

 _ **Scottishvalhalla :** No you're right, I always miss typos when I proofread (even in my native language). Thank you for your proposal, but to be honest, it would just add to the writing process and I can't be bothered x) Maybe I'll take you up on that offer on my next fic, though._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** Thank you for the compliment. To be honest, I haven't seen any fic where Nick and Judy end up as real enemies, but that's the whole point of these characters I suppose._

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Forgiveness**

After the slap event, the mood between the two mammals had become more friendly. Judy, having admitted that she hadn't fully forgiven the fox yet started being less awkward around him. Nick, turned down the snark a notch to make her feel more at ease. All in all, the week went fine, even though there was some tension between them and a lot of work to do.

The following few days felt like a long string of forms being filled, papers being filed, and tasks being boring. Judy soon discovered that Nick couldn't help bantering when he was in the same room as someone, and the fact that she often was this someone made her realise two things.

First, he was much less of a loner than he appeared at first glance, two he could talk for hours on end, and would never let slip a single thing about himself.

Nick for his part, found that the bunny was making an effort to be of good company. She didn't have his knack for banter, but she made up for it by delivering the occasional devastating blow (either verbally to his face and physically to his left shoulder).

He was taking his coffee on the front porch one morning when he saw something he had been expecting for a very long time. A very tired Finnick getting out of Joan's caravan. He could almost hear his own smirk growing on his face when the small vulpine noticed him and groaned.

"That ain't what you believe." Said the fennec fox between his teeth as he approached his boss.

"I believe nothing, this is all very self-explanatory." Nick smiled, sipping his coffee.

"We're taking things slow." Stated Finnick defensively.

Nick stared at him above his cup. "More than a week to get into her trunks, I'd say I've rarely seen you be slower."

As on cue, the caravan's door opened again on a tired looking Joan only wearing her underwear. She made a beeline toward them in a zombie-like pace, and passed next to them. "Hi Boss. Need coffee." She muttered, totally oblivious to her own state.

Nick whistled between his teeth. "Phew, Fin'. I see you haven't lost your touch."

"We didn't sleep together. Well, we did sleep together, but we didn't 'sleep' sleep together."

Nick's eyebrows rose slightly. "Yo mean you haven't 'shagged dat fine piece of ass'."

"As I said, takin' things slow. We just… Talked."

Nick's jaw had hard time deciding if it should hit the ground or snap itself shut. It chose the middle-ground and hung loosely. "You just talked ?" He finally articulated.

"And drank. A lot. Tha' why I slept wid- at her place."

Nick's gaze went to the caravan to Finnick's van, parked a mere ten meters away.

"I mean, we haven't even gone on our first date yet."

Nick blinked. That shouldn't have surprised him. They were swamped with work, and the elephant had barely enough strength to crawl into her bed at the end of each day. And though he had strongly encouraged all of them not to, he knew most of his employees still got some work done on their off days, and were still on call in case of emergency. He felt a bit guilty about it. As their boss, it was his job to get them to rest.

"Got nuthin's to say ?" Asked Finnick after a few moments.

"She's something special, isn't she ?" The snark was unusually absent from Nick's voice.

"Yeah, I guess… I guess she is."

A couple of seconds passed before Nick spoke again.

"She snuggled you with her trunk didn't she ?" The fennec fox stiffened, his tail poofed up, all but confirming Nick's suspicion. "Oh my god, this is so cute." The snarky smile was back at full capacity. Finnick threw his arms up and headed inside.

"Ya had to fuckin' ruin it."

...

As Nick kept sipping his coffee on this beautiful morning, he saw Judy get out of her own room and waved at her.

"Hey Boss." She greeted cheerfully.

"I thought I was Slick."

"Not when I'm off-work."

The fox snorted. She was becoming more cheeky by the minute. She still maintained some distance, especially when they were alone, but it seemed she was less and less upset with him.

The bunny took a step inside the building. "Are you coming for the morning briefing, Slick ?"

"Grunt and Duke haven't arrived yet. You should go take a look in the kitchen though, there's a surprise."

She gave him an inquisitive look but he said nothing more. As she disappeared inside his gaze followed her. He knew she was still having rough evenings. Joan's ears were to blame for him knowing about that, but not only, as she had sometimes fallen asleep in his office. It had been surprising to him the first couple of times, he didn't know mammals could cry in their sleep.

"Oh my gosh ! I'm so sorry !" Came her voice from inside the building and Nick snickered in his mug. He heard her footsteps coming closer and the bunny planted herself in front of him.

"Do you find it funny ?" She asked, glaring at him.

"Very much so."

The bunny wasn't really fuming, as he could see the corners of her lips curl up. "So that's what you meant about Joan."

The fox nodded. "I'm honestly surprised you never saw her in that state before."

"I think I fully grasp the 'Trunks' nickname now." She stated. "Finnick didn't seem fazed by her though."

"He wasn't even oggling ?"

"Didn't seem so."

Nick shrugged. "Probably because they slept together."

"They… What ? How do you know ?"

"Saw him get out of her caravan right before her."

The bunny pinched the bridge of her nose, trying really hard to block out the mental images. "How does that even work." She muttered under her breath.

"Sorry what was that ?" He asked, having perfectly heard what she had said.

The bunny blushed. "Nothing."

"You were wondering about the logistic of the whole situation, weren't you. Ah, bunnies…"

"Could you be even more aggravating in the morning." She groaned.

"I'd need a second coffee for that." He grinned back. "As to answer you question, he was snuggled up in her trunk. I mean, the top one."

Judy shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean ?"

"To sleep. She made him a little bed with her trunk. You know, not to crush him, since they slept together."

The bunny seemed like she understood less and less what the fox was saying.

"They just slept, Carrots. Nothing more." Explained Nick. "You have a dirty mind, by the way."

"It was you that said…"

"That they slept together." He finished with the smuggest of grins.

"Oh my gosh, you're infuriating." She sighed.

Nick snickered. "I try, thanks. They're taking things slow, I think Fin' might be quite smitten."

"You've seen him like it with someone else before ?"

"Never. That's why I thinks he's smitten. Seems loves doesn't see age or species after all..." The tod took out his phone and looked at the time. "He should almost be here."

"Herbert or Duke ?" She asked.

"Them too." Nick answered enigmatically.

The sound of a vehicle coming from the road began to be heard, but it wasn't the same as Herbert's car. In fact, that sound was familiar to her. It was an old truck she had driven a few times in the past.

"Gideon ?" She asked with surprise. "He's coming ? How do you know him ?"

"I don't know him. I just happened to call him a few days ago and give him the address, as well as the time you'd be available. I'm giving you your day off, by the way."

As he finished his sentence, he saw a pink truck park. It had a large board on its side with the words "Gideon Grey's real good baked stuff." on it. The tod repressed a chuckle. He had seen the fox's website, he had a real way with words.

The bunny had started toward the truck, and she she launched herself at the driver's neck as soon as he had opened the door. It was a rather tubby red fox whose whole appearance screamed country-mammal to Nick.

"Oh my gosh, Gideon ! I missed you so much. What are you doing here ?"

"What are we doing here." Corrected a female voice.

Judy hadn't noticed the other passengers in the fox's truck. First came Katie, then Evan and last…

"Ethan ?" Judy's ear immediately dropped. Several things occurred to her mind as her eyes went from one mammal to the other. She had missed them all, true, but seeing them reopened the wound that had only started to heal. Ethan looked ten years older than when she had left. As she stared at her ex-husband's face, she felt sadness, affection, but not the longing she had experienced when she had crushed on Gideon years ago. At the moment, she knew she still liked him, but didn't love him. And she understood she never had in the realest and deepest sense of the word.

"Hey Judy." He greeted meekly, his ears down. "How are you doing ?"

Time had stopped. The only emotion she felt now was guilt. She was doing good, and part of her hated that it was because she was away from her old life. From him. "I'm doing okay. How are you ?"

"I'm…" He drew a deep breath. "I manage."

She approached him and took his right paw. Ethan had never been a strong mammal, but right now he seemed so frail, she feared a gust of wind could break him down. She heard Gideon shuffle and take her children away, giving them some privacy.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm sorry for what I'm putting you through."

"Are you happy here ?" He asked timidly. "Do you still feel trapped ?" The selfish part of him hoped she did. Maybe it would lead her to come back, but deep down he didn't believe it.

"I don't know if I'm happy yet… But I don't feel trapped. I actually feel like I matter."

"You always mattered to me. And the children."

"I know." She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't keep going down this path.

"Is this your boss, over there ?" He asked, glancing at Nick.

"Yes. Do you want to meet him ?"

The buck nodded and Judy waved at Nick to come closer, hoping real hard he would keep the humour at bay.

"Nick, this is my hus- ex-husband Ethan. Ethan, this is Nick, my boss."

"I recognise you." Said Ethan. "You're that fox that saved Zootopia a while back. Nick Wilde, wasn't it ?"

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." The buck looked like he was looking for his word. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know why I came here." He finally said, taking a couple of steps back before turning around and heading toward Gideon's truck.

"Woah, what did you do to this poor guy ?" Whispered Nick.

"I dumped him." She answered, before getting after Ethan. "Ethan, wait !" She circled the truck and found him sitting on the ground, his head in his paws, back against the vehicle.

She meekly sat next to him. "Ethan…"

"I shouldn't have come." There were no tears in his voice, only resignation. "It hurts just to see you. It hurts to realise you're ready to start something new, where I know you'll be happier than you ever were with me. It hurts because I wish I could give you that, and that can't because… Because I'm just me. I want your happiness, Judy, I really do, but I wish we could be part of it."

"Me too. There isn't a day I don't wish I was in love with you." She took his shoulder and tipped him over, resting his head in her lap. "I know there's nothing I could say or do to make you feel better, but I wish I could."

"Why did you accept to marry me in the first place ?" He sighed. "If it was all for nothing."

"I married you because… I thought it could make me happy, or at least close to it. I thought maybe I could bury my dreams, and in the end, I couldn't.… But we got Evan and Katie. It wasn't all for nothing. That, I don't regret. You were the best husband and co-parent I could have wished for."

"Really ?"

"If I ever have other children, I promise to ask for your help." She smiled.

The buck put a paw to his eyes as he started chuckling, a few tears rolling out of his eyes. "And I'd be happy to help. How messed up is that ?" They shared stifled laughs, and the buck wiped his eyes. "You started joking again. Your were so cheerful when we were in college… How could I not notice how miserable you were with me ? I'm not sure I was as good a husband as you say."

"You were, Ethan." She whispered, stroking his ears. "I just got really good at hiding it. I managed to hide it from myself for years didn't I ? I guess I just couldn't anymore."

"You're really better here, aren't you ?" He looked up, trying to catch her eyes.

Judy looked down and their gaze met. It was painful, but she had to give him the truth while looking him in the eyes. "I'm starting to be. I think this is what I wanted… Needed."

"It's back." The buck sniffled. "Gideon told me… The fire in your eyes. I never noticed it was gone, but now that I see it, I know… It's back. You had it in high-school, in college… And now you have it again. I wanted to ask you to come back, to work things out, but…"

He straightened up slowly before standing and helping her up in turn. She saw his eyes fill with tears again. He suddenly hugged her and she hugged him back. "You're you again." He sniffled. "You're not the bunny that settled for me anymore. You're back being yourself."

"Ethan-"

"No, don't." He pulled back, his tears still running, but a sad smile was growing in his face. "It breaks my heart, but you can't believe how happy that makes me."

Judy wanted to scream, to punch destiny in the face, to tear through herself and find the love Ethan deserved. "I'm sorry." Was all she could give.

"I know." He said, running a finger on her cheek. "You wouldn't be you, otherwise."

She pushed his paw away and drew closer, giving him a simple kiss on the cheek. I was soothing, full of affection and kindness. "This is how I really feel about you." She muttered.

"I'll have to live with that." He sniffled. "Oh, cookies and sour cream, I'm such a mess."

Judy shook her head. "No. You're not." She nudged his cheek with her nose. "I broke your heart and you're taking it like a champ."

"What would it be if I took it hard." Ethan said with a sad chuckle, while he wiped his eyes again before drawing a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. "Let's go see the children. They've missed you as much as I did and I have kept you long enough."

She wanted to step forward and hug him, but she wasn't sure he would be able to keep it together if she did.

Instead, she took the lead and they walked around the truck, to find Gideon, Nick and their two children chatting.

"Hey, Carrots, I still can't believe I had to find for myself that your best friend was the 'Gideon Grey'. The first time you told me about him, I thought the name was just a coincidence."

"You know about him ?"

Nick chuckled. "The most renowned restaurants in the city are fighting over his pies. You bet I know about him." He put an arm around Gideon's shoulder who started blushing under Nick's praise, and led him away. "You and me are going to have a little talk about these pies." The tod shot Judy a knowing smile, and she understood that he was giving her and her family some space.

"Hey kids." She greeted meekly.

"Mom." They answered in the same tone, their ears low.

She took a couple of timid steps toward them. "I missed you."

"We missed you too."

She wanted to hug them so bad, but she feared they would reject her. They hadn't talked since the day she had left bunny-burrow, and she hadn't contacted anyone else since. She found that she couldn't hold their gaze. The silence lingered until she felt Ethan's paw gently push her forward. She was soon wrapped into a hug, Katie, with her face in her neck, while Evan, a head taller than her, was holding both his sister and mother in his arms. Ethan soon joined in on the hug, and for a fleeting second, Judy felt like everything was going to be okay between them.

"We talked a lot with uncle Gideon." Evan said. "He's been here for dad and us, as much as his work let him…"

Judy felt a bit guitly. she had asked him to keep an eye on Ethan, but she should have known he would go overboard.

"Grandpa Stu and Grandma Bonnie are really worried you know ? They were angry too when you left. Grandma even talked about bringing you back by the ears..."

Judy chuckled half heartedly. "And dad ?"

"They got into a big argument, and he had to sleep on the couch for a week but he managed to talk her down." Said Katie.

Judy sighed. She had to call them, but she didn't feel ready yet. The fact that Ethan or her children seemed to understand her actions helped, but her parents had always been set in their ways. At least her father appeared to be on her side.

"Aside from that, how are they ?"

"Stu is bouncing back up, but your mom is very upset." Said Ethan. "She thinks you should have talked to her. She think that you should have taken more time to think."

Part of Judy wanted to laugh at that. She had been thinking about it for almost six years. What more could have her mom brought to the table ?

Awkwardness crept up in the silence, and they were saved by Gideon and Nick's return.

Judy's boss was nibbling on a piece of blueberry pie. "This fox knows his way around pies." He commented. "Why don't you-" He suddenly interrupted himself his eyes straying from Judy's family before settling back on them. "Keep your eyes on me. Yeah that's it. Perfect." The four bunny gave the fox perplexed looks before they saw Gideon's mouth fall agape. He was staring at something behind them.

They started turning around.

"No. Nononono !" The tod snapped his fingers a few times, catching their attention. "Don't look behind you, eyes on me. Eyes. On. Me. Don't… Aaaaand there goes my credibility as a boss."

As they all looked behind them, they saw a mostly naked elephant trying to discreetly make her way back to her caravan, while a fennec fox failed at concealing her with his body.

"What the-" Began Evan.

"Fuck is this ?" Finished Katie.

"Kids ! Language !" Immediately reacted Judy.

"Cookies and sour cream." Said Ethan. "What kind of place is this ?"

"The kind of place Judy is going to tell you all about on her day off with the delicious picnic Gideon told me he prepared. Meanwhile, I'll be in my office expecting no interruption whatsoever." As he made his way toward the building, the red fox made a stop next to Judy. "I wish I could be here but sadly I have a mountain of work. I'm sure Carrots will be more than qualified to tell you about everything."

Nick went away with a knowing smirk on his face. He wished he could be there when she would explain the relationship between the elephant and the fennec fox to the country mammals.

* * *

"Jerk."

Nick took his eyes away from his work, his eyes pausing on the clock (it was already 9PM) before finding the bunny that had spoken to him.

"I've been demoted from Slick, it would seem." He smiled, putting his pen down.

"You wouldn't believe how many questions they asked about Joan and Finnick."

Nick chuckled. "Are pred-prey relationships that unusual in Bunny-Burrow ?"

"Not anymore." She shook her head. "But most of the time, it's between mammals roughly the same size. The weirdest couple we have is a squirrel with a pig, but both of them are still prey, so…"

"You know, Fin' and Joan are technically not 'together' yet. I bet they'll keep dancing around for at least another month. There wasn't much to explain to your family." The tod had stood up, and was rounding his desk to approach her.

"Yeah, because an elephant crossing a parking lot in her underwear doesn't warrant an explanation." She answered sarcastically. "Thank you by the way."

"For what ?"

"Everything. You didn't have to do anything, but you still went out of your way to organize all this."

The fox shrugged. "That wasn't much."

"Yes it was. I mean, I'm not sure I appreciate you doing it in my back, but calling Gideon and doing all this isn't usual for a boss."

The fox didn't answer. Finding Gideon's phone number had been easy. Looking for him on furbook had quickly revealed the he was in fact the 'Gideon Grey'. After that, it had just been a matter of calling his business line and say he was Judy's boss to his secretary. He had received a phone call in the next fifteen minutes. From there, the rest had been a real piece of cake.

"You really go above and beyond for your employees."

"I told you I would do my best to make you feel at home."

"That was still a lot. You didn't have to go this far."

The fox played with his pen somewhat nervously before speaking again. "I had, though. I don't know a lot about bunnies, but I know family is important to almost everyone… And… Well, I also know you've not been the most happy since you've arrived." He chose to keep to himself that Joan still heard her cry on a regular basis. He didn't want to add embarrassment on top of everything else.

The bunny's ears dropped. The truth was, she was happy, or at least getting there, but the situation with her family was still weighing her down a lot.

"Don't get me wrong Carrots, you've officially become our new ray of sunshine. You've been showing a brave front, and I'm pretty sure almost no one saw through it. But your head wasn't really in it, you know ? You gaze off, your ears drop, you get these watery eyes… You were on the right tracks for an emotional burnout. I'm sorry I put my snout where it didn't belong, but I know how hard it can be to renew contact with people, especially when things didn't end on the best terms. The more you would have waited, the harder it would have been. The truth is, I once was in a rather similar situation."

"What happened ?"

The tod shrugged. "Me and my mom stopped talking when I dropped out of high school. She wanted me to study, but by that time, the world had already shown me it would never give me a real chance at being anything else than… A shifty fox."

The tod's gaze had lost itself somewhere behind her. She expected he would redirect the conversation with some kind of joke, but instead he started talking about the incident with the Junior Ranger Scouts. She discreetly wiped her eyes as the story unfolded.

"… Things spiralled down after that. I was guarded, aggressive… I let no one near me. Soon, I was pushing mom away. We didn't mend our relationship until after the whole Nighthowler mess."

The bunny had put a supporting paw on Nick's arm. "What happened then ?"

"She slapped me across the face." The fox snickered. "Then we hugged like we were never going to let go. None of us had dared to try and come back in the other's life for fear of being rejected. I took a goddam TV show to bring us back together."

"What ? Why ?" She knew almost everything there had to know about the Nighthowler incident, but she knew nothing about the tod's reunion with his mother.

"I was invited to a few TV sets for interviews, they were mostly about how incredible it was for a fox to do something worthwhile." He smirked, the irony seeping from his tone. "One of the journalist had dug more stuff up than the others, and he had managed to find my mom. Anyway, they wanted to do this whole 'reunion between estranged family members' bit and weren't being very subtle about it. The moment I understood what they were about to do, I walked off the set with a promise to sue their ass if they aired any footage of us. I still had some favours to cash from him so I was ready to have Lionheart's lawyer involved if I had to. Then I went backstage to find her. In a way, by accepting to come, she was the one that made the first step."

"Wow. That's… A lot."

"Yeah. I… I usually don't talk about all this." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thank you for telling me, then."

"I knew a lot about you already. Felt right to even the field. And again, sorry if I overstepped by contacting Gideon. I sometimes wish things had been different for me, so I though maybe I could nudge things a bit for you. Make things easier."

Judy sighed. The tod was right. Maybe he had overstepped, but she couldn't blame him. In fact, she might have done the same thing in his place. She threw her arm around him and hugged him.

The fox had absolutely not expected that, and patted her back awkwardly at first, before hugging her back with the same strength. "You guys are huggers, aren't you ?"

"For almost any occasion, yeah."

"What is the occasion this time ?"

The bunny broke the hug and beamed at him. "It's a thank you."

"You're welcome."

She let go of him before taking a couple of steps back and directing herself toward the door. "Have a good night, Nick."

"You too, Carrots." He said, walking to his desk.

"And Nick ?" She said, her hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah ?"

"I forgive you."

What was that weird sensation in the tod's chest, he couldn't say. It felt like a bittersweet warmth was spreading through him as the door closed itself on the bunny.

* * *

 _We're entering writing mess territory. Stuff to say with no structure. Be warned, bumpy ride ahead._


	10. Homesickness

_**Cemsay :** I am on target. The target just doesn't want to stay steady._

 _ **GhostWolf88 :** That's what I was going for. Whether I went for a love story or not, I want their relationship built on respect and understanding._

 _ **J Shute Norway :** First, I want to say that I fangirled like a little bitch when I saw a review from you. Second, thanks for the compliment._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** Judy still has some road to go. But we're almost there._

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Homesickness**

Each day, Nick had felt more nervous. He knew in his guts that inspection day was getting closer, but was it going to happen the next day ? The next week ? The next month ? There was still so much work to do.

He still remembered vividly his two last inspections. Both times, Tamowitz and the inspector, a black bull named Oxley, had spent half the day chatting away like old pals in his ex-boss office, after which he had been drilled with questions for two hours on every single aspect of his job, his life, the way he used his free time, if he had stolen anything from the department, and so on… The bull was as fox-hating as the sheep, if not more. Luckily, he had been able to brief Finnick for the second inspection, not that the fennec had needed it. He Had been on the receiving end of police interrogations often enough.

Still, he was sure the bull would do everything he could to find every single flaw. And so much flaws remained still. In the fox's opinion, his team had been able to fix the bulk of what had to be done, but would that be enough ? Oxley would jump at the opportunity to get him fired.

Now that the river was clear of the trees, he had been able to send Joan to start to mark the forest hike trails again. Duke and Herbert were working on the different shelters that could be found on the park's ground, while Finnick had started repairing the housing unit's roof.

Judy and him, were still neck deep in paperwork, but they were starting to see the end of the tunnel.

...

Nick was sipping on his coffee, trying to relax while waiting for his employees. The armchair was supposed to be comfy, but whichever way he sat, he felt like he had to move just a bit, a tiny teensy bit, to find the perfect position. And of course, it didn't work. Maybe because he was already at his third cup of coffee.

"Hey Nick." Finnick was the first to enter, closely followed by Joan. They sat on the sofa in front of him, one on the other's shoulder.

"Hey, lovebirds. How is it going."

"Pretty good, thanks for asking." Answered Finnick. Nick was a bit disappointed his teasing had stopped working on his best friend. At least, it still worked on Joan.

"We're good, Boss." She said in turn, with a thin smile and a dircret blush. "How is it going with Judy ?"

Nick almost spat his coffee, while Finnick turned toward her with a "Whaaaaaa-"

"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean it like that !" She reacted, blushing even harder. "She's been the first one to arrive lately, but she's isn't here yet, so…"

"We haven't fought lately, if it's what you're asking. She should be here soon."

But as it happened, she wasn't. In fact, Herbert and Duke, the ones that lived the farther, came in before she did.

In the end, the tod decided to proceed with the briefing without her. There wasn't much to say anyway. Congratulations for everyone's hard work, and encouragement to keep going strong at their current task.

"Want me to go an' check on her ?" Asked the fennec fox. "I'm headin' dat way anyways."

Nick shook his head. "I'll handle it. Maybe she hasn't heard her alarm go off… If someone's going to surprised her in the nudes, better be me. We wouldn't want Trunks to get jealous."

"That's so considerate of ya." Snarked the fennec before leaving to fetch his tools.

Nick, for his part, made his way toward the bunny's room and knocked on its door. Once. Twice. No answer.

"Come on Carrots, don't make me use my master key." He said between his teeth, knocking for a third time. "Well, one more breach of privacy isn't going to make much of a difference." His key easily turned in the lock and he pushed the door. The room was dark, but he could almost see as in plain day. Vulpine perks were good.

His eyes took in his surroundings, a perfect copy of his own room, one he hadn't used in months. Worn brown wallpaper, traces of water on the ceiling, a kitchen corner with the bare minimum, and a door leading to a small bathroom.

The bed had a form resting on it, bundled in the cover. "Carrots ?" The fox called, stepping closer. "Hey, don't joke around."

He pushed the cover to reveal an unconscious bunny. A feeling of dread settled in the fox's stomach. She wasn't that young, nor that thin. A cardiac arrest in her sleep wasn't that rare for mammals that age. "Judy ?" He called with worry. He approached a head to check her pulse and almost jumped when a paw grabbed his.

"Nick ?" Came a weak voice. "I don't feel so good."

Don't panic. Don't panic. Nick drew a deep breath. "Are you hurt ?"

"I feel like... my body... weighs a ton…"

The fox put a paw under her head to raise it, and already he could feel that her body temperature was abnormally high. He put his nose against hers. Hot, dry.

The fox quickly took out his phone and started zoogling for bunny's common diseases and their symptoms.

Snuffles. Redness and eyes discharges. Nope. Hairballs ? Probably not. Uterine tumors ? He looked at the symptoms and winced. He wasn't going to check for that. Myxomatosis, invariably fatal. Don't panic. Don't ! Panic ! Her eyes were still fine.

Suddenly, she sneezed, sending a bit of snot in his face.

"Carrots, this looks like a flu." He stated, wiping his snout with a disgusted but amused expression.

So, she needed warmth, and fluids. The fox put down his cane against her bed, and grabbed the bundled bunny in his arms to make his way back toward the other building. Halfway there, he realised three things. First, his bad leg was killing him. Second, there was a set of stairs between him and his goal. Third, he'd have to go back for his cane.

"Rut me."

He had needed a couple of pauses in the staircase, but the bunny was finally on his camp bed, wrapped in a second layer of blanket for good measure. Next, he went to fetch a water bottle and call for a doctor. Given the state she was in, he didn't think it was a good idea to move her too much. Beside, somemammal still owed him a few favors, and hell if he wasn't going to cash them in. When he came back, she hadn't moved an inch, but he could see her eyes were slightly open. "Nick ?" She called. Her voice was hoarse and weak.

"Hey, you're awake."

"Barely. Where am I ?" The tod had kept the light out so that she could rest. The shutters were lightly open, which gave him enough light to work.

"My office. The doctor's coming." He took the bottle and handed it to her. "You thirsty ?"

"Yeah."

At first, he thought he would have to hold it for her but despite her weak state and the bottle's size, she managed. Next, he laid her back on his bed, tucked her in again. "You should rest. Call if you need anything."

She didn't answer, and soon she was sleeping again. The fox started working and resolved to use the computer as little as possible, not wanting to disturb her with the keyboard's noise.

...

An hour passed before his phone beeped. The doctor was on the parking lot. The tod stood up and went to fetch her.

A plump badger was waiting for him the near the building's entrance. She was wearing a slightly annoyed expression.

"I can't believe you bothered me for a sick bunny." Was her greetings.

"Hi to you too Madge. I hope I didn't interrupt any of the numerous and fascinating things you do in your retirement." He greeted back.

"I'll have you know I'm not retired yet, squirt."

"Then, this is right up your alley then, fossile." He smiled waving her inside.

The badger snort. "May I remind you I'm not that kind of doctor."

The fox shrugged, the same smile still plastered on his face. "Given the number of times mom called on you when I was sick, or the number of times you patched me and Finnick up, I don't think it matters."

"You haven't changed, still a goddam brat. Aside from the grey in your fur." She added snarkily, while following the limping fox with wobbly steps due to her wide frame.

"Pot and kettle…" Nick snarked back, pushing the door of his office.

"I'm blaming you for my white hair."

"Thought you'd blame your daughter. She's a handful too."

"Still more respectful of her elders than you."

Nick let her have the last word. The badger had been a makeshift aunt for him, and that had always been their default mean of communication.

"Carrots, I'm turning on the light." He saw a shift in the cover and flicked the switch.

As she took in the tod's office the old badger snickered. "You're as organized as ever."

"I learnt it from you."

She shot him an annoyed glance and wobbled toward the bunny. "So you're the sick bunny. My name is doctor Madge Badger. You should be at death's gate if Nick bothered to call a doctor."

Judy's giggle turned into a fit of cough, which had the fox kneeling at her side and helping her straighten up.

"I'm Judy Hopps. Nice to meet you."

The badger's gaze went from the bunny to the fox then back at the bunny. A knowing smile appeared at the edge of her lips but she didn't say anything.

She then proceeded to make the bunny go through a whole battery of tests and check ups, asking her about her vaccinations (which were all up to date). When she was finally done she put down her stethoscope and said. "You have a common cold. It's hitting you hard though, which is strange given your constitution."

"My constitution ?"

"Aside from the couple of pounds too many, you're in remarkably good shape for someone your age. I'm wondering why this hitting you so hard. Maybe you have a weak immune system. Are mammals often sick in your family ?"

The doe frowned. She had been sick a few times, but a cold had never put her in that state. And her and her siblings had always been strong against most illnesses. "No, quite the opposite." She said in a low voice.

"Any recent change in your personal life ?"

"I..." Judy hesitated, rubbing the finger that was still wearing a ring.

Madge pursued her lips, and took Nick by the arm, leading him out of the room. At that, the tod felt alarmed. What bad news was Madge about to give him ?

"Has she been depressed or sad lately ?" She asked. "Did something happen to her, or her husband."

Nick knew that a patient's mental state could play a large part in their physical health. Himself, in the few years after the ranger scout incident had been sick more often than usual. "Yeah. There was a whole situation with her family-"

"Did her husband die ?" She cut.

"No, gosh no. She dumped him but it's not my place to talk about it. She's been taking it pretty hard, and maybe I wasn't the most supportive mammal when she arrived here… I doubt she's over everything yet…" He trailed off.

"Does she have friends ? Mammals that support her ? Some family or parents she can talk to ?"

"She has us..." Nick said with some hesitation, knowing for a fact that aside from her ex-husband, children, and best-friend, she had cut contact with her whole family. She feared their reactions to her actions and hadn't had the courage to confront them yet.

"Alright. Well, there isn't much to do aside from letting her rest. Give her aspirin for the fever and potential headache, keep her hydrated and warm."

"That all ?"

The badger sighed. "Emotional strain can be a bitch for mammals' health. I don't know how much her family counts for her… But she should try to find closure for whatever that situation is. Or at least work on it."

It was Nick's turn to sigh. "I'm not sure it's my place to tell her that. I already meddled enough."

Madge shrugged. "Talk to her. That's all I ask."

They went back in and the badger took her bag. Nick kneeled next to the bunny. "Good news. You'll pull through." He said.

She gave him a tired smile. "Yay."

"I'll see Madge to her car, then I'll come right back up to take care of you." He added in a reassuring tone, before leaving with the mustelid. When they reached her car, Madge turned toward him.

"Hey kid, she'll be okay."

"Yeah, I know, you told me so."

The badger groaned. "Then being stop being so worried. She's not made of sugar." She entered her car and Nick put a hand on the door frame.

"I'm not worried. You know me, I never worry." He smiled smugly.

"Except for mammals you care about. Be careful, you're starting to show emotions in your later years. Well, maybe it was time you let someone in… It's never too late."

"I have no idea where you're going with you nonsense. Be careful, senility is looming on you."

The badger shot him an annoyed but amused look. "Have a nice day, squirt."

"You too, fossile."

...

The day had passed without a hitch, aside from the fact that Nick had been a complete worrywart. Luckily, Judy had been way too out of it to be annoyed by his attitude. It was especially hard to here her sob in her sleep. As the evening came, Nick decided that maybe it was time to eat something. She hadn't been able to eat anything for lunch, but she was confident she would be capable to eat something for dinner, and the tod obliged by going to the kitchen and trying to whip something up.

His cooking skills weren't abysmal, but they mostly consisted in tossing something in a pan and calling it a day. At least, the kitchen was stocked in soups, and there was bread in the freezer. Adding some spice, milk, toasting some bread was child's play. Going upstair while holding the tray however wasn't, and he almost spilled everything a couple of time, cursing his bad leg as he reached his office.

"Dinner is served." He smiled setting the tray down next to the bunny. He took her bowl and gave it to her. "Are you going to be okay with that ?"

"I can hold a spoon, slick." She answered. The tod gave him some of the toasted bread he had cut in small squares to use as croutons and she tossed them in. "That's nice." She said after a few spoon of warm soup.

"Thanks. I'm more of a chicken broth mammal myself, but I thought it wouldn't be your thing."

"You should eat too before your soup gets cold." She didn't look as sick as in the morning, but Nick could still hear her weariness. Still, he let her handle her own bowl and took his. They drank their without talking, the slurping sound regularly breaking the silence.

"You eat like a kit." She smiled once they were finished.

"I haven't spilled any soup, I'll have you know." He shot back Before taking her bowl and piling it up on his. He then slid it aside and let himself flop on the floor, next to her. "I'm beat."

"Was you day any harder than usual ?"

The fox smirked. "I had to take care of a needy bunny."

"Poor abused fox."

"Yeah. Poor me. How are you feeling by the way ?"

"I think I could stand up and walk, And I think I'm going to have to." She said, giving a glance to the bathroom door.

"I could carry you again, if you need."

The bunny blushed, remembering that episode of their day. At least the fox had let her take down her pants and underwear herself to do her business. "No thanks. I think I'm also going to try and take a shower if I can. I'm feeling sticky from all the sweating."

With some worry, the fox saw her stand up and direct herself to the door. He waited until he could hear her start the shower and then left his office.

The water on her fur felt heavenly. As she had been raised with hundreds of other siblings, the bunny was used to take quick showers, but this time she took the time to enjoy it. As she did so, her thoughts wandered to Nick. In the span of the last few weeks, he had shown he was way more than your usual fox. He was an efficient planner, hard worker, and a manager that knew how to balance his employees' strengths and weaknesses. He also had a kind side to him. Joan's story, the way he had gone out of his way to create a space where everyone felt at home, even the very removed Herbert was a testament to that. She got out of the shower refreshed, but the two steps she took toward the towel she was usually using reminded her that she was still ill. Then she realised she didn't have clean clothes to put on.

A knock was heard on the door. "Hey Carrots ? I brought you some clean stuff to put on."

Half of her was glad that he took it upon himself to fetch her clean clothes. The other half was a bit upset that he would go through her drawers.

"Judy ?" He called again.

She opened the door slightly and he passed the clothes through the gap. When she grabbed them, she realised they weren't his clothes, but rather, a large green shirt with a Park Ranger logo on it, and small short that fitted her almost perfectly. She was starting to shiver, and put them on at once. A familiar but faint smell came from the t-shirt. It wasn't disturbing, but rather, it made her feel safe. Once she was decent, she opened the door and went straight bag to the tod's bed.

"Thanks for the clothes."

"You're welcome." He answered absent-mindedly, as he was back at his desk, his eyes on one of the numerous files.

"When you said you had clothes for me, I thought you would bring me some of my own stuff."

The tod lifted his nose from the file. "Should I have ? I always thought it was inconsiderate to got through a lady's drawers."

The bunny nodded. "It is. I'm glad you didn't. Where does the short comes from ? Did a girlfriend forget it ?"

"No." Nick shook his head. "It's one of Finnick's. We have some of each other's stuff and we never bothered to sort everything out. We crashed at eachother's place a lot, once upon a time. Sometimes he give me some of my stuff back, sometime I give him some of his."

"Won't he mind ?"

"Not as long as I clean it before giving it back." He turned back to his work, trying to concentrate, but the words started jumping before his eyes. He huffed and slumped against the back of his chair, pinching his eyes.

"Hey Nick ?"

The tod turned toward her again. "Yeah, Carrots ?"

She was settled in the blanket, her face barely sticking out. "I feel cold."

"Do you want me to turn on the heater ? Or do you need another blanket ?"

"A blanket would be nice."

The tod made his way toward one of the lockers in the corner of the room and opened the first. Nope. He opened the second one and took out what he was looking for. Given the time he had spent in that office, he had been keeping some stuff here, the blanket was part of it. He went back to the bunny and added it to the two that were already around her.

She shivered again, and as a reflex, he took the wrapped bunny in his arms. He was about to let go when the bunny set her head against his chest. "Better."

He answered nothing, simply settling himself more comfortably. She shifted a bit to make it easier for him, and ended up giving him half of one of the blankets. He realised then that she expected him to stay like that for a bit.

"Thanks." She said.

"For what ?"

"That, and the rest. You didn't have to do all that for me."

"If not me, who ? Someone needed to watch over you today."

"I don't like to be a bother."

"You really weren't." He said with a smile. "Besides, it's not the first time I had to do that."

"Really ?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. Once or twice for Fin', though he didn't want me to. For my… For my mom one time. And for Joan also. That was something else."

"How so ?"

"I almost changed her nickname from Trunks to Trumpet. Good times…"

There was some silence between them, before the fox's voice was heard again. "Madge think your sickness is linked to your mental state."

"Nick-"

"Don't tell me you're fine."

Judy sighed. "Alright I'm not. I miss my parents. I miss brothers and sisters. I don't know what to do about it."

"Go talk to them." Nick stated evenly.

"It's not that simple."

The fox snorted. "It is that simple. It's just difficult. Probably as difficult as taking the decision to leave your old life. You were able to do that for yourself, maybe you should confront your family for the same reason."

The bunny's gaze wandered from Nick to the rest of the room. He was right. It was simple. But what if they decided to completely reject her ? What if they couldn't understand.

"Hey, worst case scenario, you'll still have a place here." Said the fox, as to answer to her thought. "That's not such a bad place be."

"How did you end up working here ?" She asked, as a blatant excuse to divert the topic away from her own problems.

That question made the fox scratch his neck. He didn't like talking about his past that much, but to her, he didn't really mind. He felt like he could trust her with it.

"Well, it all started when I realised my way of life would drive me into a wall..."

* * *

 _Nick hated the call he had to make._

 _But he was out of money, and almost out of a roof over his head. The last ten years had been a nightmare. The one thing in his life he was truly proud of had kickstarted his downfall._

 _Sure, being the hero of Zootopia and having his face in every single newspaper was a nice thing, but there were several downsides._

 _First, he couldn't run a decent con when everyone knew his face and story. Second, just when he thought he'd start to be treated better, shit started to rain._

 _The IRS had come knocking to his door with what they called a 'full pardon'. Basically, he had been exonerated from paying all the taxes he owed the government. But that also meant he was now on their radars. His business ventures would have to go from 'barely legal' to 'completely clean'. Then he realised that though every mammal he met was acting friendly didn't mean they really trusted him. And some prey acted as if he had been responsible for Bellwether's action. As if the only thing that was making her a bad mammal was having her plot being discovered._

 _Luckily for him, he was still a smooth talker, and had been able to scrape several jobs over the years. Not enough to live, but enough to scrounge while using his savings._

 _Well, his mom's savings really. The money he had been sending her over the years to help her get by, that she had never even touched._

* * *

"Your mom is…" Asked the bunny meekly. She hadn't meant to dig up such a painful part of his past.

"Dead ? Yes, she is. Been so for almost twelve years." It still hurt, but not as much. And the fact they had been able to patch things up had almost made up for the lost time. "She would have been around eighty this year. I like to think that from wherever she is, she can see what I'm doing with my life. That I really stopped being the shifty fox she knew…"

* * *

 _Phone still in hand, Nick closed his eyes and blocked out the memories that were flowing back. He didn't need to think about her right now. Two years, and the feeling were still raw and painful. Her last words had been the ones she had always repeated to him, but it was the only time he had ever believed them. "I'm proud of you, Nicky."_

 _He slapped himself and dialed the phone number on the piece of paper he was holding, waiting only for a couple of rings before it was answered._

 _"Hello, city counsellor Lionheart speaking." Came a deep bariton voice._

 _"Hey Leo, it's your old pal Nicky. I need you to make me a solid."_

 _The lion emitted a soft chuckle. He had discovered early on that the lion had been taking away the first few savage predators. Keeping it under wraps had earned him a few favours he had never cashed him, mainly out of pride. But pride didn't pay the bills._

 _"What do you need ?"_

 _"A job."_

 _That, the leonid hadn't expected. "I suppose I could find some use of your diplomatic skills."_

 _The fox almost snarked back. The politician hadn't changed. Nick was asking for a favor, and the lion was already trying to spin it to suit his own needs. But the fox knew exactly what he wanted. A thing that had been living in the back of his mind for years. Now, his back against the wall, maybe it was time to make the leap. "Sorry, Leo. I'm not interested in being your lapdog. I want to be a park ranger."_

* * *

"You asked to be a park ranger ?" Judy yawned, feeling a bit tired, the fox's fox, slowly lulling into sleep.

The fox was staring in blank space. "I did. It's not what I always wanted to do, but I wanted to be part of something, you know ? A pack, a group, a f- I wanted to have something."

The bunny bit her lips. "Is it related to..." She hesitated.

"The Junior Scout Rangers ?" He asked, to which she answered with a meek nod. "Maybe… It's hard to give up on a dream, no matter how painful it is."

"I can relate to that." She smiled. "What happened then ?"

* * *

 _Arthur Ramowitz was top tier dick. Nick could understand that not having a choice in who his new recruits would be wouldn't please him, but he didn't have to be such an asshole about it. He had spent the first two weeks scraping all the bathrooms with a toothbrush, before being sent on the worst assignment possible. Rain, wind, cold, the sheep didn't care. Nick would have to spend the day patrolling the woods for… Nothing really. The sheep wanted him out of his wool._

 _He could understand not being trusted. It wasn't really fair, but as a fox, he was used to other mammal's disdain. But it wasn't disdain, it was hate. He had quickly been able to piece together that Ramowitz had been one of Bellwether's hooves in the government. He had been moved out of the way after her fall, but not sacked, since there had never been any proofs of any real misdoing he had committed._

 _The funny thing was that Nick wasn't the only new recruit, but he was the one most of the ire was directed toward. The other was a large and silent brown bear who mostly kept to himself, doing his job without asking question. Over the years, the fox would learn that Herbert wasn't from Zootopia proper, and that him being here was the result of a witness protection program. Still, Nick was the one with the target on his back._

 _And his boss wasn't the only one making his life miserable. Aside from Nick, two other sheep were working under Ramowitz, and soon, an elephant too. That's when things started to get better for the fox. His savviness in all law related things had made the department able to recruit and keep her, and she had been an invaluable asset ever since. After that, Ramowitz had given him more leeway. The fox still couldn't put a paw in the administrative stuff without supervision, but at least he was in._

 _It didn't mean everything was peachy though, his two other sheep colleagues were still out to make his life miserable. He got the first fired with the proofs he had gathered of his harassment. It took almost six months to get rid of him, but it had been worth it. As a result of a phonecall, Finnick was recruited to take the sheep's place. At first, it had been supposed to be a temporary thing, as the small vulpine didn't care much about his job at the MPRD, but being able to work again with his best friend (and the presence of Joan) convinced him to stay for good._

 _The second sheep left after one snarky comment too many had earned Nick a beating and the definitive necessity to use a cane. The doctor that had repaired his leg ten years prior had been quite clear that he would require one in his later years, but he hadn't expected it to be that soon. Soon after, someone (Nick suspected Finnick, the fennec knew how to get into places and get information he wasn't supposed to) divulged the presence of a large number of prey supremacist items in his possession, as well as a few compromising pictures of himself attending their meetings. Ramowitz, already salty about Finnick's forced recruitment, almost went ballistic when a weasel was recruited to replace his last sheep. Nick knew that Weaselton had been struggling financially to support his family, and hell if he wasn't going to have the city repay him for his effort in saving it._

 _From then on, Nick lost his administrative privileges, and Ramowitz utterly stopped doing his job. The fox started to run a parallel management, turning all but officially into the superintendant he meant, and was meant, to become._

* * *

"And that's everything." Stated the fox.

"You really worked hard for all this." Said Judy in a tired voice, his tale and voice having lulled her. "Harder than I did when I tried to get into the ZPD."

The fox shrugged. "It's easy to work hard when you have the right motivation."

"I guess that's why you're so stressed out about having everything going smoothly. That's why you couldn't trust me at first."

The fox's face fell a bit. "And that was a mistake. I would hate to see all my had work turn out to be for nothing, but that doesn't excuse my attitude."

"That explains it, though. I don't think I would be much more diplomatic if something was threatening my own family." She said, shifting and trying to find a better sleeping position.

The fox was staring down at her with an expression she couldn't decipher. "My…"

"You can count on me Nick. I promise." She added in a tired voice. "I won't..." A small yawn escaped her mouth, which was the cutest Nick had ever seen. "… Let you down."

* * *

 _LOREDUMP !  
_


	11. Facing the Past

_**Ghostwolf88 :** Thank you. I think I've finally find how I will end things. I hope you won't be disappointed._

 _ **J Shute Norway :** It's actually very hard for me to imagine how people can be affected by homesickness. I've left my family's home about 6 years ago, and I never missed it (and we're on really good terms, so, no drama here). All I can do is extrapolate from the people I know and what I read._

 _ **Gallowaychi :** In the beginning, I was more into fanfic sequels than AU. Then I realised that the AU had a way to use the material in very inventive way. This fic is the result of that. As for waking up curled up and stuff... Erh... Well... You'll see._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** I was a bit afraid that people might be put off by it._

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - Facing the Past**

Judy was waiting at Bunny-Burrow's train station for her ride. Gideon had promised he would be able to pick her up, and it wasn't as if a cab would have been an option. She glanced at her phone and realised he was already fifteen minutes left.

The main reason why she was anxious for her friend to arrive was because she didn't want to risk getting recognized by anyone yet. She wanted her arrival to be a surprise. Not because she thought it would be a good surprise, but because she knew her parents and family weren't happy about the way she had left. She'd rather not give them time to prepare the speech they were sure to give her about responsibility and decency.

She heard the motor of an ageing truck before she saw the vehicle that emitted it. She immediately recognized what she had baptized the cake-mobile years ago.

She waved at him and hopped on the passenger seat as soon as Gideon parked the truck.

"Hey Gid." She greeted, giving him a quick side hug.

"Hey Judy." He greeted back. "Sorry to be late, I wos taken wid' paperwork, you know how it is."

The bunny smiled. "Organization was never you thing."

"I'm good a bakin' c-c-cakes. The rest… Not so much."

The vehicle started moving again, leading the two passengers toward the town. It skirted it, and took a few backroads, the fox purposefully avoiding the town center.

"You're taking the long way around." Noted Judy.

"Ya told ya wanted to stay discreet until ya met wid' yer family."

She nodded. "We could still have gone through town."

"Better safe than sorry."

They arrived to a small pink house the bunny recognized as her friend's childhood home. It was perched on a small hill and a bit removed from the rest of the town. She still remembered how eerie the place had felt in her childhood, with the unkempt garden and it gloomy vegetation. Her and her friends sometimes dared themselves to approach and enter the garden. Now, and since Gideon had inherited it, the place looked so different she still had a hard time getting used to it.

"Have I ever told you that I love what you've done with the place ?"

"Only once every t-t-time we invited Ethan and ya fer dinner." He said, smiling at the compliment.

The fox helped her take her suitcase out of the car and inside the house, holding the door for her as she entered.

"Honey, our guest is here !" He called, while closing the door.

As on cue, an apron wearing vixen entered the hallway. "Hey, Judy !" She greeted, hugging the bunny. "I'm so glad you're here !" She took a step back and observed her from head to toe. "You look good… Maybe a bit tired, but good, you know ?"

"I just got out of a nasty cold, so that could explain that." Judy answered, before giving the vixen a once over in turn. She had always been very lean, which was quite a feat given her husband's profession, but she looked like she had put on a couple. She noticed another thing too. "Your fur looks really good." Judy remarked. "You look-"

"Pregnant." The vixen stated with an excited smile. "I'm pregnant !"

"OH MY GOSH ! This is wonderful news ! But wait, since when ? I wasn't even gone for a month !"

"We'd say about two months." She answered. "But we haven't told the kids yet, so shhhh."

As on cue, a trio of small vulpines that weren't older than eight bursted into the hallway. "Hey, it's auntie Judy !" Said the older one.

"Louis ! Alex ! Juliette ! I'm so glad to see you !" Judy smiled opening her arms to the group of cubs that pounced at her, almost making her toppling down. "Wow, you're not so small anymore !" she huffed, glad to feel Gideon's paw in her back to keep her steady.

…

"So, you're going to see your parents ?" Hester asked, taking a spoonful of the strawberry cake Gideon had baked.

"Yeah, but I'll go see Ethan first. I don't want him to learn that I'm here by anyone else. I don't want him to think I'm avoiding him."

"How long will you be here ?" Asked the male fox.

"Three days, including today."

He lifted one of his eyebrows. "That's awfully short, couldn't yer boss give ya more time."

"He wanted to, but I negotiated for less. I've barely been working there for a month, and we're swamped with work. I need to be back as soon as possible."

"Judy on duty is at it again ! Don't overwork yerself. Ya ain't twenty anymore." The fox joked.

"Y-yeah, you're right." Judy smiled back, though the joke had hit way too close to home.

…

"Ready ?"

Judy was ready to ring the doorbell. Gideon was by her side. She had told him he didn't have to come, but he had wanted to be here for support. And she was glad he had.

Her finger pushed the button, and they heard the chiming through the wooden door. A glass wearing female bunny opened the door, which Judy recognized at Ethan's mother. She was a couple of decade older than Judy and so lean it seemed a gust of wind could take her away. Despite that she had an air of severity to herself.

"Judy." She stated more than she greeted.

"Mary, it's nice to-"

"What are you doing here ?" She asked with thinly veiled hostily.

Judy winced. She hadn't expected Ethan's mother to still be staying at her old home. She chose to be direct in her answer. "I wanted to talk to Ethan."

"He isn't home at the-"

"Mom, who's at the door ?" Came Judy's ex-husband's muffled voice from the living room.

It was the elder doe's turn to wince. She and Judy's gaze started battling. The two does had butted head a couple of times. The both of them could prove as headstrong as each other, a fact that Gideon knew all to well as his best friend had complained to him about her more than a couple of times.

"Please Mrs Jumpsky. I realise ya ain't too pleased wid' Judy at the m-m-moment, but this won't make it any better."

The elder bunny turned her gaze toward the fox and squinted her eyes. The Gideon she (and most of the town) had known wasn't as diplomatic as the fox she was seeing. And she had to admit, what he was saying was reasonable enough. "Alright come in." She huffed.

She led them toward the living room to find Ethan sitting on the sofa with a book.

"Hey, Ethan." She greeted.

"Judy ? What are you doing here ?"

"I'm going to see my parents, but I wanted to check on you first."

She took a couple of tentative steps toward the sofa, and he scooted aside to give her some space. "Please sit." He invited.

Mary was staring at the two younger bunny. She drew a curt disapproving breath before disappearing in the kitchen. "I'll prepare some tea."

"I'll give ya a paw." Declared Gideon, not wanting to intrude on Judy and Ethan before joining Mary in the kitchen.

"Hope they won't fight." Muttered Ethan.

"They better not. I wouldn't want to have to bring Gideon to the hospital."

Ethan chuckled. "Yeah, that's probably what would happen. How are you doing ?"

"I'm doing fine… Well, I was sick a couple of days ago, and the doctor thought it was because I was a bit depressed about the situation with my family. So I came here to clean the air with my parents."

The male bunny bit his lips. He knew enough of Judy's parents and their views on the situation. "Maybe talking to them isn't the best thing to do to lift your spirit."

"It's more about the weight on my shoulders. Besides, I'm more worried about your mother at the moment."

The male bunny snorted. "Yeah, she's a piece of work. If it makes it better, she isn't mad about what you did, but more about who you did it to."

Judy didn't really know what to say to that. It made sense, but it wouldn't make it easier to mend their (previously already rocky) relationship.

"She'll come around, I'll make sure of it." He reassured her. "Beside, in her own word, she knows how it feels to spend years married to a bunny she could barely stand."

"Ethan, I-"

He lifted a paw. "I know you didn't feel that way. I'm just giving you her point of view."

Judy stared at him before closing her eyes to push away the lump in her throat. "I don't deserve that much from you."

"I still care about you." He simply said. "And I know you still care about me. Otherwise you wouldn't have taken the time to come and see me." He added a bit smuggly. She knew he was using it as an act to hide the pain, but she didn't point it out. Instead she took his paw to show her appreciation.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He blinked and looked down. "You're still wearing your wedding band."

She looked down and blushed. "Yeah… I know should take it away but…"

He looked at her inquisitively.

"It's stupid." She stated while he kept staring at her. "Okay… I just can't get rid of it. I'm not even sure I want to. Because, what happened between us… It's not insignificant. I mean, I might not have fallen in love with you, but you were my husband, and the father of my children… It's what it means to me. It's a part of my life, one I feel good about. Does that make sense ?"

Ethan was still staring at Judy. He blinked, and discreetly wiped a tear with his thumb. "It does make sense. I mean..." He put a paw under his shirt and took out a silver chain that passed through a ring. "I haven't really got rid of mine." He didn't point out that wearing her ring could be a deterrent to other mammals. He still loved her, and was jealous enough to indulge in that much pettiness. Beside, he was sure she had already considered it.

"Tea is ready." Declared Mary, right on cue, coming back with a plate of biscuits while Gideon was carrying a tray with a teapot and four cups.

…

Judy had managed to convince Ethan to not come with her. She wanted to face her family alone, and even though she appreciated the idea of having more moral support, she felt like she had to do it by herself.

"Could you wait for me in the truck ?" She asked.

"Ya don't want me to come wid' ya ?"

She shook her head. "It's between them and me."

"Arright. Just, if they breakout the torches and pitchforks, don't try ta fight back. Just make a run for the truck."

She shot him an annoyed glance. "It's my family we're talking about."

He nodded with the corner of a grin. "Glad we're on t-t-the same page. I'll keep the engine runnin'." The portly vulpine parked the truck in front of Judy's house. "Good luck." He said, anxiously watching her get to her childhood home's door.

She was about to push the button, but as she was expecting, the door opened before she even had the chance to do so. As one of the most traditional family in the burrows, most of its members lived on the same farm, which meant the galleries under it were akin to ones of a bunker. It also meant there were enough eyes on surface levels at all time to keep them from any surprise visit.

The two faces that appeared when the door opened were her father's and mother's, both sporting blank expression.

"Hey, may I come in ?" She asked meekly.

They didn't answer but moved away, leaving her some space to get through. As she entered, she noticed the house was unusually silent. There were a lot of muffled chatter, which guessed she was the topic off, but otherwise it was almost eerie. Since none of her parents had made a sound, she made her way to the dining room and sat on one of the wooden chair.

This wasn't the silence treatment, and she knew it. It was the storm brewing. Her mother was preparing one of her famous speeches, the kind that would hit at all insecurities used to leave her dazed for several minutes. She could have prevented it by talking first, but she'd rather let her vent. The less she would have to say, the easier things would be. At least she hoped.

Her father sat in front of her and looked up, expecting his wife to do the same. Instead she put her paws to her hips and her gaze turned into a cold glare.

 _Here we go._

"What were you thinking ?! What are you thinking !? Coming back like nothing happened, with your little smile and your proud steps ! Do you think you can just waltz in and out of your family like that ? This isn't something you can just throw away, Judy ! Do you know how worried you made us ? How hurt Ethan and your children are ? How could you do that ! We repeated time and time again that family was the most important thing, and you just left ? Like that ? we're so disappointed in you. We thought you had learnt, that you had given up on all your stupid dreams ! Because that's all they are ! Dreams ! Life isn't a fricking fairy tale ! You had settled, you have children ! Children, Judy ! This isn't something you can just throw away ! Don't they mean anything to you ? How could you do that ! This isn't how we raised you !" Her gaze turned to her husband. "And you ! Aren't you going to say something."

"He doesn't need to. You pretty much nailed it." Judy shot back, taking a page from Nick's snark book.

Bonnie Hopps turned her fiery gaze toward her daughter. "You think this is the right time for jokes ?"

Judy decided to ignore the rhetorical question. "I haven't abandoned my family. I mean, I might have been more than a bit harsh on Ethan, but I didn't just get out of his or my children's lives."

"Well, from where I'm standing, it's exactly what it looks like."

"Maybe you should try to look at it from somewhere else, then."

"And from where should I look at it, pray tell ?"

"Have you tried from my point of view ?"

Bonnie squinted her eyes.

"Are you even capable of that ?" Judy added.

The elder bunny gaped. She looked like she had been slapped in the face. "You don't get to talk to me like that, young lady !" She retorted as soon as she had found her bearings again.

"I get to talk to you however I like, mom. I followed every single advice you ever gave me, took every chance you wanted me to, because I got to a place where I thought it was the only thing I could do ! I married, I settled, I popped out a couple of kids, that I love, by the way, don't ever forget it, I got a pretty house in a perfect neighbourhood with a flowery gardens and boring neighbours ! And do you know how all this made me feel ? Do you even care about it ?"

"Judy, I'm warning you-"

The younger bunny got up from her seat. "Do you even care ?"

"Of course I care !" Bonnie shouted back. "You're my daughter, of course I care about how you feel !"

"Then how do you think I felt ?"

"I..."

"Fulfilled ? Happy ? Complete ? How ?"

"Judy-"

"HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT ?" Every ounce of anger she had ever felt toward her own condition was shooting out of her at that moment. She knew it was unfair to aim them at her mother, as she had been the one making the choices that had put her in that position. It was unfair because her mother hadn't been the only one that had set out to squash her dreams, the other culprit sitting right next to her with his head in his paws, his gaze riveted on the wooden table.

"This wasn't the life I wanted, mom." She said, as her mother didn't answer. "It shouldn't have taken so long to realise it, but it simply-"

"No. I refuse to believe that." Cut her mother. "I won't believe you pretended to be happy for so long just to change your mind in a second twenty years later. No one does that."

"I wasn't miserable all the time, mom. Katie and Evan helped a lot. There were times I was genuinely happy. But the family life, it was never for me. It felt like I was slowly dying."

"I don't believe that. It's just your mid-life crisis speaking. Soon, you'll realise what you're throwing away. You need to see it before it's too late, Judy. Otherwise you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Judy sighed. "You don't get it. You never got it. You never got me. I mean, I'm not surprised, you have dozens of children, you could never really have time for every single one of us… But I thought you would at least realise we could know what we wanted for ourselves."

"You don't get to say that I don't understand you, when you're the one pushing us away !" Bonnie reacted.

"I'm not pushing you away. I made a choice that you don't want to accept." She felt like she was sixteen again, when she had decided to major in criminology, and had almost been thrown out of the house for it. This time, though, he mother couldn't dangle that threat over her head.

"Because your choice is wrong !" She answered, throwing her hands up. "You almost tore yourself apart because of your little phase when you were a kid. But you have responsibilities now, Judy ! You can't just turn your back on that !"

"I'm not turning my back on my responsibilities, mom. My kids are big enough to take care of themselves, and they know I'll be there for them if they need me."

"That's easy to say right now, I hope you'll be true to your words when it happens !" He tone was so near venomous that Judy winced.

"I… I didn't think you thought so little of me." She muttered, her ears falling.

As she realised what she had just implied, Bonnie put her paws to her mouth. "I didn't mean-"

"We both know what you meant." Judy sighed. "You think this is just an impulse, that I'm being unreasonable, and that I will only act accordingly. This isn't a phase mom." She said, her sentence sounding like an echo of the past. "The last twenty years were a phase."

"Judy, please, think this through..."

"Bonnie. Let it go." It was the first time Stu's voice was heard since the beginning of the conversation. His daughter blinked. She had expected her father to try and stay neutral at best and take her mother's side at worse.

"What ?" Came Bonnie's strangled voice.

"It's her decision. I'm not saying I like it, but as a parent, I know I have to live with it and help her make the most of it."

Judy's mother raised her paws in disbelief. "It's a decision that won't do her any good ! It will only hurt her and everyone she cares about."

"Don't pretend you never realised how hurt she was when the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was disapproved. She mopped for weeks, and she wasn't the same afterwards. Now she has a chance for something else !"

"But that doesn't excuse-" The elder doe protested.

"And it's not her place to judge her for it, Bon. I know it hurts, and it hard to understand. Hell, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it myself… But do you think she would have ever done something so rash without a damn good reason ?" He got up in turn and took his wife's paws. "It's Judy's we're talking about, Bon. Judy, terror of bullies ! Judy on duty !"

"I-" Bonnie tried.

"This life was never for her. It's was what we wanted for her." Stu said soothingly. "But not what she wanted. We don't need to get anything else than that. She'll never be like you, or anyone else. And that's fine. We can either blame her and reject her for that decision, or try to make it work. I know what I'm going to do." He stated, shooting a supporting smile to his daughter.

Judy quickly rounded the daughter and hugged him. "You're the best."

"I have years of being the worst to catch up on." He muttered.

Bonnie was staring at both of them in confusion. "I don't get it." She said blankly. "I just don't get it. You're simply giving up…"

Judy disentangled herself from her father to approach her mother. She took her paws while looking for her words. "I'm not giving up. If anything, I'm taking a chance. I'm trying something new."

"But how can you know it will work out ? What if it fails ?" Bonnie asked, dismayed.

"Then I'll try again. Mom, I was safe all my life, and it just wasn't for me. I want to be happy for a change. It's not something that I'll find here with Ethan, but out there, trying to make a difference. Here, I never felt like I belonged. Out there, I think I could."

Her mother was staring blankly at her. Judy knew that family was everything to her, and that it would take a long time for her to accept that she couldn't keep going in that same direction.

Bonnie felt lost. She had spent her life teaching her children that there was nothing more important than family. She had helped every single one of them to get settled, whether in the Hopps' domain or somewhere else, and to her, happiness was just that. Taking care of her children and family, a thing she knew she would keep doing until her death.

She had been so scared that Judy would miss out on that because of her mindset, that the impossibility for her to get into the ZPD had been a massive relief. She would be able to have what her misguided beliefs risked to take away. The birth of Judy's children had been a very special day to Bonnie, one that had cemented her belief on her daughter's happiness. To her, it had been the day where the silly dreams had definitively died, replaced by a sense of responsibility, and peaceful life as part of Bunny-Burrows community.

Having it all thrown in her face was an earth-shattering shock. That her convictions had made her daughter unhappy was unfathomable to her. That she could reject them, even more. And the fact that she had pushed so hard for all of it to happen, that she was in part responsible for her daughter's unhappiness was unacceptable.

"I don't want to sever the ties between us, mom." Began Judy. "And I won't. If you need time to accept this, I'll give it to you. As much as you need. It was a hard decision for me, and I know it's going to be hard for you to come to term with. But whether or not you do, I'll still love you." She smiled, pulling a sob from her mother.

Her daughter hugged her, and the denial was shattered, replaced by a deep feeling of guilt and sadness. She buried and face in her daughter's neck and started weeping. Over the misguided advices, the guilt-tripping, the lost years.

"I'm sorry." She cried as her husband joined in on the hug. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Judy answered, knowing that despite everything, she still had been the one making the wrong choices.


	12. Interlude

_**GhostWolf88 :** Thank you for the compliment. To be quite honest, I really wasn't sure about this chapter when I wrote it, and even now, I'm not of massive fan of it. Glad you liked it, though. I think I had hinted a Gideon having wife and children in early chapters ? I might have forgotten to do so._

 _ **Sapperjoe85 :** I have a tendency to try and have reasons for every interaction between characters. Sometimes, I fear overexplaining will break the magic. Glad it wasn't the case._

 _This chapter serves no purpose whatsoever. It's pure self-indulgence. Joan best girl. You can't judge me._

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - Interlude**

Finnick pulled at his collar. He didn't like wearing shirts. He didn't like wearing anything but tank top and cargo shorts.

Tonight, he was wearing a white shirt. And a fuckin' sand colored tie. And cargo shorts, because he wasn't an uptight prick, god dammit.

The MPRD pickup truck was primed and ready to go (His van wasn't big enough for Joan to ride in it). He was holding a bunch of flower that he'd never admit he had gone and picked himself. True, buying flowers was for suckers that couldn't spare two minutes for the people they cared about. But picking them was for broke and desperate romantic saps that tried to compensate for the little they had to put on the table.

Joan was peering through her caravan's window, looking at the fennec who was walking in circles. She took out his phone for the fifth time to check for the time and put it back. One minute left. She had been ready for almost half an hour, and had been fighting herself to not touch up her make-up or change her clothes.

Time was crawling, and she was going stir-crazy. A part of her hoped the vulpine would back down and not knock on her door. She was so nervous she could feel her trunk shaking.

The two mammals had found a way to fit a date in their swamped schedule. With Judy gone for a couple of days, it was paradoxal that they would, but given that the most recent recruits was getting off time, Nick had tried to make it so that everyone's work charge would be lightened while she was away, to make it faire for everyone. Of course, that didn't apply to him, and even now at this late hour, one could still see light coming from his office's window.

The fennec fox took out his phone for the eleventh time and saw the number go up. He froze. Not ready. Not ready at all. Drawing a deep breath, he approached the door, knocked on it, and backed up again to not be knocked bacj when it would open. He heard a couple of heavy steps before it rotated on its hinges.

His jaw went slack.

Joan was wearing a red dress with discreet golden embroidery that hugged her waist and stopped just above her knees. Underneath light orange leggings hid her legs. A long and light scarf was wrapped around her neck and shoulder, dangling almost to her feet. The color of her outfit didn't distract from the elephant grey skin fact. In fact, it had a way to highlight it that sent sparks of fireworks in Finnick's brain.

The fennec fox's gaze slowly ran to her face, to see the discreet make-up she was wearing, and quartz earring that completed her outfit.

"That tie looks good on you." She said, after what seemed like an eternity of him staring at her.

Like a robot, he lifted the arm holding the flowers. She leant down and took them inside without a word.

As she disappeared, Finnick's jaw clapped shut. He slowly ran his paws on his face. "I'm a fuckin' moron."

"Did you say something ?" She was standing at the door of her caravan again, and took a step down.

"Nuthin'." He huffed. "Let's go, we're burnin' nightlight."

...

The ride was silent and tense. Finnick had installed the small mammal contraption in the megafauna sized truck to be able to drive it and was focused on the road. Next to him, Joan was nervously playing with the seam of her dress.

Say sumthin' you bloody moron. Tell her she's beautiful… Tell her ya love her dress…

"Can I put on some music ?" Her voice tore through the silence.

The fennec blinked. "Erh… Yeah, go ahead."

Music filled the car, and Finnick's nervousness cranked up. Their silence was so awkward that she had felt the need to fill it with music.

The road to the restaurant was too long for his taste, and he was glad to find a parking spot easily. He led the way inside and gave his name to the sheep waiter, who showed them to their table. The place was classy, but not overbearingly so. The décor was minimalist and discreet, with rugs over a shiny wooden floor, and painting hanging from the walls. It was more uptight than Finnick had anticipated, but it had a sort of relaxed ambience. The waiters seemed professional without being stuck up, some of them chatting with their clients in a relaxed manner.

Soon, they were sitting face to face, the small vulpine sitting on a stair like bench hooked to the wall behind him, while Joan was sitting on a very large chair. They weren't the only sizely mismatched couple in the restaurant. A spotted hyena and a hare were sharing an ice cream, while an otter and a bear were taking an order from the waiter. There were a few other interspecies couples and a couple of same-species ones, not at all bothered by the choices of their neighboors in their partner.

"Are you alright ?" Joan's voice cut Finnick short in his observation.

"Yeah." He said hoarsely. "Why ?"

"Well… You've barely said a word since we left."

He kept his gaze on the table, is mind blank, looking for something to answer to that, but she talked before he could.

"Are you sure everything's okay ? I know I kind of forced your paw on this, and..."

"You're beautiful." He blurted before realising what he had just said.

He saw a blush come to her cheek. "Thank you."

"No, I mean… Yer the most beautiful female I ever met. Period. And when ya got out of yer caravan, I just… I ain't good wid' words, okay ? But none would've been good enough anyway."

The blush had now invaded the entirety of her face, and she used her trunk to hide herself.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"No, that's fine. I'm just not used to… Being complimented."

"I'll have to get ya used to that, 'den." The fennec smiled back.

Their discussion kept going and was drawn toward their respective work at the department. It was cut only when the waiter took their order (a massive salad for the elephant, and a plate of salmon and homemade fries for the fennec), and then again when their plate arrived.

"We didn't order the bottle." Remarked the fennec, as the waiter started uncorking a white wine.

"Complimentary." The sheep waiter smiled before pouring some in the fennec's glass. The vulpine wasn't a complete etiquette illiterate, but didn't know the first thing about wine. Still, he sipped it.

"Seems good."

The waiter nodded and poured both their glass before leaving.

"Did you ever take one of your girlfriend here before ?" Asked Joan out of the blue.

Finnick choked on his wine. "What ? No." He said between two fit of cough. "It's not my kind of place."

"Then why bring me here ?"

"I… I dunno. I wanted to make it special." He cut a piece of his salmon an popped it in his mouth. His brows rose, it was really good.

"Wherever you would have taken me would have been special." She smiled shyly.

Finnick's heart skipped a beat as he blushed.

They both dug in, the silence only punctuated by noise of mastication and drinking. "Why did you wait for so long to ask me out ?"

The fennec paused again. It seemed she intended to ask him all the hard questions that night.

"Err… Well… I could always find a reason no to. I mean, when we met, I kinda already was in a relationship."

The elephant lifted a brow. "Was it serious ?"

"I… I never did serious." He wanted to add "Before you." But he wasn't sure if it was going to become a lie. He was taking enough of a gamble as it was, getting her hopes up wouldn't do.

"How was she ?"

"Do ya really want me to talk 'bout my ex on a date ?"

The elephant shrugged. "I've not gone to many dates. The whole point is to get to know each other, isn't it ?"

Finnick sighed. "I guess..." He hesitated before taking a sip of his wine. "She was a panda. A ZPD officer, If ya can believe it. Of course, it didn't work out."

"Why ?"

"As I said, I didn't do serious. And we both had demons, hers were… Massive. Some sorta tragedy in her past she never told me 'bout. T'was more of a fuck buddy deal 'dan anytin' else anyway. We broke it off after a few months. 'Den… Well, you know… I ran out of reason not to try, and... Stuff."

The elephant lifted a brow. "Stuff ?"

"I… I thought it was a bad idea. I still do. I ain't sayin' you're not worth the risk. I just ain't sure I am."

"Fin-"

The fennec fox lifted a paw. "I'm not undersellin' myself or anythin'. Nick'll be the first to tell ya I don't have a self-esteem problem. And as ya know, I don't care about species, or stuff like 'dat. We're just… Like night'n day ya know ?"

"You're saying this can't work." She stated plainly.

Finnick sighed. "I'm old, yer young. Yer kind and tolerant, I'm rash and short-tempered. Yer quiet and patient, I'm loud and impatient… I want it work, but I'm still pretty sure I'll fuck it up at some point."

Finnick kept nibbling on his fries while Joan mulled over his last sentence.

"Why don't we just take it easy ?" She suddenly asked. "I'm not asking for you to promise anything. I like you, you like me, so let's just try. We can talk about our problems when they arise."

The fennec fox chuckled. "Great, yer half my age, and yer already twice as wise."

"They say girls are more clever than boys."

"Well, they're spot on, whoever they are."

Their plates were nearly finished, Finnick was dragging his few remaining fries in the sauce before tossing them into his mouth.

"I've had a crush on ya from the moment we met, ya know ?"

Joan smiled "In hindsight, you were pretty forward about it. You really were trying to push it off." She added, before eating a forkfull of salad.

Finnick was playing with one of his last fries. "Does sound idiotic now."

"It simply means you care."

"Ya can't help bein' nice, cantcha ?"

She nodded and kept eating the last remnant of her meal while the fennec played with his fries. "Did ya ever have a boyfriend ?"

Joan blinked. It was a legitimate question. She had spent all her adult life at the MPRD, and hadn't had a boyfriend since she had started working there. "One, once."

"For how long ?"

She lifted her gaze from her plate. "About two years. I broke it off before I left the city."

"Oh. That sucks."

The pachyderm shrugged. "Not really. We didn't share much anyway. It was just kissing, holding hand, having sex. He was nice, I guess… It was just a teenage thing where we didn't know what we were doing but we were doing it anyway."

"Heh, don't worry, we adults don't know what we're doing either."

She giggled while the fennec sighed and leant against the wall. "To be honest, I wos afraid ya didn't have any experience."

"Would it be bad ?"

Finnick blinked. "I… I dunno. Maybe ? Feels like a big responsibility. I feared you'd be nervous with me and all…"

"Sounds like you're already trying to get in my trunks." She grinned.

The fennec fox's skin shot red under his fur. "Yeah, no… I mean..."

"Relax, I'm just joking. You're cute when you're flustered." She ran her trunk on his cheek, but the whole confident and flirty vibe she was trying to give was completely thrown off by her own blush. "I suck at this." She whispered, pulling her trunk away. His paw reached for it, and he ran a claw to its tip.

"You're doing fine. Really, really fine." He said, discreetly crossing his legs.

"Thanks, I…" Silence lingered for a couple of seconds. "I have to go freshen up." She gave him a meek smile and stood up. The fennec fox watched her go away, trying really hard, and utterly failing to not get mesmerized by the swaying of hips.

She had to be doing it on purpose.

Alone at the table, he ran both his paws on his face. "Fuuuuu-"

...

Joan was resting her hooves on the sink's rim. She was staring at her blushing face, trying to calm down her breath. "What am I doing ? Oh gosh, what am I doing ?" She exhaled slowly. "Alright big girl, don't hyperventilate. You're doing fine." She drew a deep breath. "I'll invite him for a last drink. It's fine. It's good. I can do this."

She wanted to run some water on her face, but decided against it, not wanting to ruin her make up.

"Shit, what's she doin' to me ?" Finnick huffed.

"More wine sir ?" The sheep waiter asked, almost making the fennec fox in the process.

"No thanks. I'm drivin'."

The waiter nodded in agreement. "A sensible choice. You seem nervous sir."

"Yeah..."

"Is it the first time you date outside of your species ?"

Finnick chuckled. "Never dated inside it."

The sheep shot him an enigmatic smile. "A special lady then." To which the small vulpine nodded. "That's what Mr Wilde told me." The prey mammal added. "I've watched you both. It's not my business, she seem quite fond of you."

"Thanks, I s'pose… For the bottle, an' stuff."

The waiter nodded with a polite smile. "You're welcome. Any friend of Mr Wilde..."

As he finished his sentence, Joan reappeared. She silently sat back and shot a smile to her date when their gaze met.

"What were you talking about ?"

"Wine."

"Ah."

"So… Want some dessert ?"

...

The pick-up truck was only a few minutes away from its destination. The road changed from concrete to dirt, which barely made any difference for the vehicle's suspension.

"Did you have fun ?" Asked Finnick, cutting the comfortable silence that had installed itself between them.

"Yes. It was really nice, but maybe a bit..." She hesitated.

"Too fancy ?"

"Yeah."

The fennec fox sighed. "Nick gave me the address. I don't know a lot of nice places, aside from… Dives."

"One of your dives would have been okay." Joan smiled.

Finnick snorted. "Yeah, no. They're all kinda rubbish."

"Would you have felt more comfortable there ?"

"Yeah..."

"Then they're good enough. I want to be with you, Fin', not with some 'better' mammal you think I would deserve more."

He felt her trunk against his cheek and leaned into the contact. "Maybe you do deserve a better-"

"If there's someone better, then too bad for them, because it's you I like." She stated.

The fennec fox couldn't help the grin that spread on his face. Nick had always been better at pulling off the 'cool' persona. "You're stuck with me, 'den."

He stopped the truck next to her caravan, she opened the door and put a foot out before turning toward him. "Do you want to come in for a last drink ?"

Finnicks stared at her, the fanfare in his brain drowning all coherent thought. He had to shake his head to be able to talk again. "Ya don't have to push yerself. I'm fin wid' takin' it slow."

"You're right." She smiled, exiting the vehicle. Finnick's heart sunk a bit. It was the right thing to do, but part of him had hoped she would insist. A hoof on the door she leant inside, poking his snout with her trunk, while a blush was spreading on her face. "So… Are you coming or what ?"


	13. The Inspection

_**Guest** : That they are._

 _ **GhostWolf88** : I wasn't sure I was going to include that chapter to begin with, but I wasn't a big tangent from the main plot, so... I'm happy people responded to it positively. _

_**Sapperjoe85** : I'm always a sucker for mismatched couples. Finnick and Joan are not my favourite pairing, but they're up there._

 _This chapter was almost poster right after chapter 9, cutting Judy's reunion with her parents. It would only have been mentionned in the first part of this chapter (as you will see) in a more lengthy discussion. The same would have gone for Joan and Finnick's date. But then I thought this could make great chapters. I was just afraid Judy's parents chapter would be a bit too tearfilled._

 _That being said, please enjoy the penultimate chapter of this story._

* * *

 **Chapter 12 - The Inspection**

"How was it ?"

Judy was riding shotgun in the MPRD pick up truck. It was around eight o'clock and the sky was leaving behind its pink hue. Joan had picked her up at the metro station, as she was coming back from her trip to bunny-burrow.

"Hard, but mostly okay." She answered.

"Mostly ?"

The bunny played nervously with one of ears. "Ethan is doing better, but his mom kind of hate me now. She didn't want to let me see him."

"Wow… That's harsh."

She nodded. "After I left, while on the train, I was told by Ethan that Katie and her got into a shouting match over the phone… Evan calmed them down. He's way more diplomatic than I ever was."

"I guess becoming a lawyer will suit him fine." Answered the pachyderm. By now, all her coworkers knew everything there was to know about her life, and she knew about most of theirs too. That Joan would remember that showed how much her and the other cared.

"That's true."

"How about your parents ?"

Judy sighed. "Mom is taking it hard, I think she's having a hard time accepting that I can't be like her. Dad is… He feels guilty."

"Guilty ?"

"Yeah… He was the one that was the most adamant on 'not believing too much on my dreams'. I'm not angry at him, but he thinks he could have been more supportive…"

"That's not really his fault the Mammal Inclusion Initiative didn't pass when it should have."

Judy nodded again. "True, but maybe they shouldn't have celebrated."

"They did ?" Joan was wearing an expression close to disgust. Having her parents disagreeing with their child's goal really resonated with her. "That's messed up."

"They did it discreetly, you know. A word here and there, but I know dad drunk himself silly in relief. They only had my safety at heart, but it hurt they put it before my happiness. So how was the date ?"

Joan flushed. "We went to the restaurant Nick recommended us."

"And ?" Judy grinned expectantly.

"He was a gentlemammal and everything. He was wearing a tie. When does Finnick wear a tie, honestly ?"

"When he's with you apparently." Judy grinned.

"Yeah. It was really nice. I was so nervous, I think he was too… There isn't much to tell." The smile she was wearing told Judy otherwise.

The bunny shook her head. "I don't believe that. What did you talk about ?"

"Well… How we both didn't know what we were doing. A bit about his ex-"

The bunny frowned. "That's not very sensible-"

"No, no, I asked him. I told him about mine. It was fine..." She trailed off.

"And then ?"

Joan blushed harder. "I invited him for a last drink."

Judy squealed. "Joooo ! On the first date ?"

"I've been waiting for it for three years, okay ?" She defended herself.

The bunny raised a paw. "I'm still a bunny, it would be hypocritical of me to judge you on that."

They both giggled before Judy asked. "How was it ?" The pachyderm shot her a dubious glance. "I mean, was it nice ? I'm not asking for details."

"It was… amazing. He did things that… Well… It was good."

"Good." Judy repeated.

"Yeah. Really good." Joan was blushing hard now, and Judy decided to let the topic rest.

"I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks."

As they arrived at the MPRD, they noticed a megafauna sized black car, as well as a bull leaning against its hood. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a tie. Everything in his attitude screamed government employee.

"Great." Muttered the female elephant.

"What is it ?"

"Inspection day. It had to be today of all days." Well, at least it didn't happen while Judy was away, but having it take place the day of her return was just plain bad luck.

"This is Oxley ?"

"Yeah. And be careful, this guy is an asshole, and a good friend to Ramowitz." For the elephant to use such a word against another mammal really made her wary of him. The both of them left the car, and Judy took out her suitcase from the pick up truck. Just as the fennec fox closed the door, the black bull reached them.

"Good morning." He said in a warm voice. "My name is Andrew Oxley. I'm a government employee, tasked with the inspection of this department." He had delivered his sentence without even a glance toward the vulpine. "You must be Judith Hopps, nice to meet you."

He offered a hoof that she shook. "Nice to meet you too." She answered as an automatism.

"If that's okay with you, I'd like to ask you a few questions concerning your work and life at the Meadowland Park Ranger Department."

She glanced toward the main building and to Nick standing by the doorframe. He was staring at them with a neutral expression, but the twitches in his tails betrayed his anxiety.

"Of course, let me take care of this and I'll be with you right away." She smiled.

The bull curtly nodded. "I'll wait for you inside then."

She made her way toward her room followed by Joan.

"Be careful with this guy." She said, as Judy entered her room, the elephant simply leaning down to talk to her through the open door. "He has a way of twisting your words. And I know he's really narrow minded."

The bunny took out a paper-block and carrot shaped pen from her suitcase. "What do your think his goal would be ?"

"Last time he was here, he spent his time trying to stir the discussion toward Nick. He clearly was trying to dig up crap about him to get him fired. And us too as collateral damage. He also drilled Finnick for hours. And with me, he made enough assumptions that I could guess how much of a bigot he is. I wonder how that guy can have that kind of opinion and still have a job at city hall. He should go easier on you, though."

"Because I'm a meek bunny." She stated with a tinge of bitterness.

"That's probably what he'll think, even though we all know it's not the case." Joan winked. "Let him underestimate you, let him believe what he wants to believe if it's not detrimental. The worst thing you could is to be confrontational."

Judy sighed. The idea wasn't appealing at all, but she'd let him believe anything as long as it would keep them safe.

...

Oxley and Nick were waiting for the two small mammals in front of the building. The red fox still showed a cool exterior, but the twitches in his tail were still giving away his mental state. As she approached him, she could see the hints of disdain in the bulls eyes when they looked toward the small fox. Then and there, she decided she didn't like him. At all.

"Since there isn't any other place that could fit me, we will have our discussion on the ground floor." He said, even before she could greet Nick properly. "I obtained for us to be left alone for as long as we need. Is that okay with you ?"

"It's perfect." She answered following inside, giving a discreet nod to Nick as she passed near him.

She sat on the armchair and the bull chose the sofa. Judy was wondering how the interview would go, focusing herself on not saying anything that Oxley would be able to use against Nick.

"So." He began, putting a recorder on the coffee table. "How is life here ?" Maybe it was because she was already biased, but she was impressed by how condescending that question could sound. Still, he looked completely relaxed, and not at all as hostile as he had been in Nick's presence.

Then an idea popped into her mind. She could let him believe what he wanted about her, but maybe she could let him believe what she wanted.

* * *

As Judy followed Oxley outside, to see that all her coworkers were present. Finnick was on Joan's shoulder, and the bull gave them a disgusted look. He then shot a wide and mean grin to Nick. "I'm going to ask you to bring me the computer in the main room, Superintendent Wilde." The fox's name and title sounded like insults in the bull's mouth.

Nick ears flopped. The smile on the bull's face didn't bode well. Whatever Judy had told him, he was pretty sure the bull already knew how to use against the fox. He shot a worried glance to the bunny, which answered with a conniving smile. "Record this." She whispered before calling the bull. "Mr Oxley ?"

"Yes ?" He turned around, halfway to his car. Nick was taking out his phone and started filming. The large mammal didn't have the time to say anything, though, because Judy took her carrot pen out and launched the audio track she had recorded. As it unfolded, she could see the expression of her coworkers change, first from stupor then incomprehension.

* * *

The bunny drew a breath and shot Oxley the most blasé look she could muster. "Can we cut to the chase, please ? Arthur didn't send either of us here to waste time."

Oxley lifted a surprised brow at that. "You know Arthur Ramowitz ?"

"To get a job here I'd probably have to either know him, someone at city hall, or Mr Wilde, don't I ? What do you think is more likely ?" She asked, crossing her legs.

"I think Arthur should have told me. This scheming idiot will get me fired someday" He muttered. "So, what do you have ?" His gaze on her was still suspicious. He wasn't buying it. Yet.

She gave an exaggerated sigh, hoping the little experience in drama from her younger years would pay off. "Have you looked around ?"

"You arrived before I could really get my nose everywhere." Judy could tell the bull was still wary of her. He didn't outright accuse her of lying, but the trust still wasn't there.

"Did you notice anything ?"

The bull chuckled. "Apart from four predators too many, nothing wrong." He stated, studying her reaction. Judy shot him a coy smile. "The place has known better days, but I have to admit it's in a better shape than it was during my last visit…"

"You haven't really been paying attention then. It looks fine, but there's still a lot to do." Her tone was conspiring.

She felt him gauge her. She was trying to be antagonistic in a way that said "let's cut the bullshit." instead of "Get out of my fluff."

"Heh, that's true… So, what was I supposed to notice ?"

The bunny shifted in the armchair. She tried to make it look as she was trying to find a more comfortable position, but in truth, she was uncomfortable. She was weaving a web of lie, and she didn't know where it would lead. "Let's just say that as an intendant, I have other things to see than how the repairs are going."

"What do you mean ?"

Judy's brain was firing at full speed. What would a dishonest mammal use Nick's position for ? "Have you looked into the bookkeeping ?" It was a shot in the dark, but embezzlement was as good an offense as any.

A grin spread itself on the bull's features. "I knew it ! This fox is using his position to cover things up ! I can't wait to dig into the paperwork. Once a criminal, always a criminal, am I right ?"

"Whatever N- Mr Wilde has done in his life, he has never been convicted for anything." Stated Judy matter of factly. That could have sounded like she tried to to point out his honesty, but she tried to make her tone suggest that it would harder to pin any crime on him.

At that, Oxley waved his hoof dismissively. "Of course. He was always a small-time crook, why would the police take an interest in him ? But now, he has put his dirty paws on one of the city's department ! Who knows what he's going to try and do with it ? And what was city-hall thinking by entrusting it to him ! To a fox, of all mammals !" His powerful fist struck the sofa's armrest.

Judy nodded knowingly. The bull was really letting himself get carried away, which was a good thing. He was eating it all, hook, line an sinker, blinded by his own bias. She knew there had been a time (very long ago) when she too shared his opinion on foxes, and wondered if she would act the same in his place.

The bull leaned forward and grabbed his recorder, turning it off. "You realise that we're going to have to do this interview all over again, right ? I can't appear that we know each other."

"Do we know each other ? No. No we don't." Judy grinned, the fake smile coming way too easy to her liking.

The buffalo nodded and slumped back on the sofa with a content sigh.

"You know what they said to me ? 'Oxley, you're paranoid. Just because he's a fox doesn't mean he has to be a criminal.'" He said, mimicking a high pitched voice. "All this would never have happened when Bellwether was in charge !" The bull suddenly fell mute and scruted the bunny's reaction. The topic of Bellwether was always a bit touchy, even in the most conservative circles.

"Maybe you should lower you voice a bit." She said, successfully turning her scandalized expression in one of worry.

"You're right. It's just… It's good to vent. The government has been taken over by all this 'progressivism' and 'tolerance' speeches, that we're losing tracks of what's truly important. In my own department, I'm being treated as an outcast. Where's the justice in that ?" He chuckled darkly. "But we're getting off topic. Is there anything else I should know ?"

The bunny shook her head. "Not that I know of. I'm still a rookie, I don't have N- Mr Wilde's complete trust yet."

"And what about your colleagues ? Anything to report ?"

She shook her head. "They've shown nothing but professionalism when they were near me. I can't say I know them well, though… Given you've already inspected this place before, I'd wager you know them even better than I do."

The bull shook his head in turn. "Trust me, I don't. Their hostility toward me was very thinly veiled. At least, their commitment to their leader is admirable. It's more than I expected from predators."

"What about Joan ? She seems nice."

Oxley snorted. "The elephant ? Really naive if you ask me. Wilde got her wrapped around his finger. Last time I was here, she couldn't shut up about how he had changed her life for the better and that she owed him everything. But that's not the worst about her." He added in a lower conspiring tone.

"Please do tell."

"I believe she's having an affair with the fennec." He whispered.

Judy had to bite the inside of her cheek to not give herself away. "No way."

"I know, this sounds crazy. How depraved is that ? I don't know what they did to this poor girl, but it breaks my heart to see her getting taken advantage of in such a way. And a predator with a prey." He shuddered. "Different species is bad enough, but this… Pred on prey… It's straight up disgusting."

She was squeezing her fists so hard, her knuckles started to ache. She slowly exhaled, not wanting to blow up in the bull's face yet. "I think we can stop there." She said, forcing out a smile. "As for my interview, I guess you will think of something to write down. Let me just give it glance, for my peace of mind."

"Of course. You've been a great help Mrs Hopps. I'll ask Mr Wilde to give me access to the computer and bring it down here, since I can't fit in his office."

"Will you be able to use it given your size difference ?" She asked, hopping down from her armchair.

"Don't worry, I have a screen, keyboard and mouse my own size in my car. Given the wide array of places I have to inspect, I have to come prepared."

* * *

"Why would you replay that to them ?" He asked in a panicked voice once the recording reached the end. "Why would you record it ?"

"Because, Mr. Oxley, I'm not one of Ramowitz friends. In fact, the reason why he hired me was because I was a hick bunny from hicksville, right in her middle-life crisis. He hired me because he thought I would be a thorn in Nick's side. You, on the other paw, know him very well, and you said some pretty incriminating words about predators in general, and foxes in particular. I'd be really curious to know what city hall has to say about this."

The bull took a step forward, pointing a threatening finger toward the bunny. "You lied to a government employee, do you think you can get away with it ? I know people ! This isn't going to go like you think !"

The bunny took a step forward in turn. "Did I lie to you ? All I did was ask question that you were way too happy to answer."

Several expression passed on Oxley's feature. The most prominent one was anger.

"Now, this is how it's going to go. You're going to finish this inspection, and do it thoroughly, after which you're going to hand an impartial report to your superiors, one that will not fail to mention the sorry state Ramowitz had left it at the time of his departure. Then, you're going to convince them you don't want to be in charge of the inspection of this department anymore."

"This is called a hustle, sweetheart." Said Nick at her side, sharing the same smug grin.

Anger turned to rage as the bull step forward. As he did so, the bunny didn't move an inch, an expression of defiance on her face. "Listen here, you little pieces of-"

Herbert sidestepped and grabbed the bull by the shoulder, stopping him and making him turn to face him. His eyes met the prey's and he slowly shook his head.

"Get out of my way, predator, or I'll put you into the ground." Seethed Oxley, trying to shove him away.

The bear didn't budge and instead started growling, the sound gradually getting louder. The bear suddenly looked taller and way more threatening. His glare turned to ice, and even Joan started to look and feel smaller. The smaller mammals, for their part, had trouble staying in place, their instinct screaming at them to flee.

"Please. Do try." His voice was a low rumble, one that chilled them to the bone.

The black bull lost his composure and started trembling. "You- you can't threaten me like this !" He protested in a voice a pitch higher than usual.

"I am not threatening you. You are threatening her. And it's been caught on camera." He said, pointing a Nick, which was still holding his phone in a slightly trembling paw. "Now I suggest you do as she said. She's offering you an out, although she has no reason to."

Defeated, Oxley slumped his shoulder and did as he was told.


	14. Epilogue

_**Dragonslayer85 :** Thank you, I did my best !_

 _ **SapperJoe85 :** Yeah, I like him too. I think I underdevelopped him a little, but he was recycled from A Better Place, and was completely different there, so I don't really feel like I've betrayed him._

 _Guys, what's with the 85 at the end of both your nicknames ? Coincidence ?_

 _ **Spawnetscape1 :** I think Judy is pretty much considered an honorary fox around the Zootopian multiverse ^^._

 _ **Cemsay :** Thanks :D_

 _ **J Shute Norway :** *Bows down* Thank you._

 _ **Guest :** She completely wrecked that poor asshole. Once in a while, between torturing them, I like to give my characters a win._

 _ **Foxlover91 :** Always feels good to put down a bigotted idiot. Hope you will like this chapter._

* * *

 **Epilogue - The Weight of the Years**

"Carrots, I can't believe you did that." Said Nick, sitting on the grass. The whole department was there, sharing beers and snacks a few minutes after Oxley had left.

"Well, I did !" She smiled back before sipping at her beer can. She wasn't fond of the beverage, but she was slowly acquiring the taste. And she felt like she needed a bit of alcohol in her system.

"What gave you the idea ?" Asked Finnick, Joan's trunk resting on his lap, his paws occasionally stroking it.

The bunny grinned. "Joan told me Oxley was going to try and twist my words. I figured the best way to prevent that was getting him to talk. I also recalled something Nick told me a few days ago, that saying something that aligns with what the other wants to hear will sometimes be enough to fool them. As for the recording…" She blushed. Imitating her hero was a bit corny, but it had felt so good. And had saved their skins, which had been a nice bonus. "The way Nick, Finnick and Duke trapped Bellwether gave me the idea."

Nick gave a nod of approval. "That was quite the hustle. I wouldn't have done better."

"I'm sure you would have." She said, blushing even more at the compliment. "By the way, I didn't thank you properly." She said, turning toward Herbert. "So, thank you."

The bear had brought his can to his lips and stopped his movement. "You're welcome." He answered. "It was a pleasure."

"Anyway. It was real nice thing to do for us." Chimed Duke. "I mean, it could have been risky if he had caught you."

Judy shrugged. "That was the right thing to do. I couldn't let him destroy this for you all. I didn't really think about the risk."

Nick was giving her a peculiar look, she noticed it and answered with an interrogative one. He tossed his can in the trashbag near the door with a chuckle. "Carrots, we're going on a walk."

He used his cane to stand up and offered her his paw. She took it with a perplexed expression. "Where are we going ?"

The tod smirked. "You'll see when we get there."

"Eloping together that soon ?" Asked Joan.

"You're one to talk." Shot back her boss. "Tomorrow's a day off for everyone, but consider yourself on call in case of emergency." He started heading toward the door. "Carrots, why don't you wait for me near the blue north trail ? I won't be long."

...

True to his words, he didn't take long. When he reappeared, he was carrying two small bags and tossed her one. "Let's go. I'd like to arrive before dark." He said, starting to walk toward the trail.

"Is it that far ?"

"Four hour tops, but with this thing, you never now." He said, waving his cane. "Besides, It's been a long time since I went there."

Most of the road was spent in silence, the bunny taking in the sights of the forest. The sun was still high in the sky, but if the fox's time estimation was right, they'd arrive not too long before dark. Walking behind the tod, Judy took in the sight of the forest. She had never taken that trail before, and she enjoyed discovering it. Bunnyburrow was mostly grasslands and fields, and the few woods were scarce. The forest sights were particularly beautiful.

"Oxley was right, though. You did lie to a government employee." The fox stated out of the blue.

One of Judy's ears perked up in interested surprise. "I was careful. Every 'lie' was turned as a question."

"I know, I noticed. But, you know, technicalities… As a fox, I'm used of them being used against me, and me using them against others. It was a risk."

"Well, I was ready to take it."

Nick gave her a glance over his shoulder. "You could have lost everything. It could have been the end of your second chance. City hall could have overruled me, you could have faced jail time, I'm not sure you realise how-"

"Nick. I have a criminal law degree. I knew exactly what I was doing and what risks I was taking."

The tod almost tripped at that. He used his cane to keep himself steady and hid his stumble as a fit of cough.

"I'd never ask you to do something like that over… All this. We would have managed."

The bunny caught up to him in a couple of skips, but didn't stop him. "You could have. And I know you'd never ask anyone of us to take risks you could prevent us to. You're like that. This is your thing, your department, your responsibility. You want to bear all the weight alone."

The fox couldn't help but nod. It was his the only thing that was truly his. He could never ask anyone else to fight for it.

"It's because you'd never ask that I did it. Protecting all this… It was worth it. Even if it had failed, or if it ends up coming back to harm me, it would have been worth it." She smiled. "It's probably the remnants of my dream. Integrity, trust, bravery… Maybe in a way, I made it as an officer the same way you made it as scout ranger."

Nick took a couple of quick steps and found himself ahead again. She heard him swallow and put a paw to his face, but said nothing.

...

They barely spoke for the rest of hike. Judy was busy taking in the sight while Nick made doubly sure not to lose them. Finally, they ended out of the trail, on a slope that was steep enough to give the fox trouble. He never asked for help, and was grateful that she didn't propose, though he knew she was a step behind him, ready to catch him if he stumbled.

On the top of the bush covered hill they were climbing was a massive oak tree. It had scarce but strong branches, with fewer leaves than a tree this size should have. It still gave off an aura of sturdiness and wisdom.

"Beautiful, isn't she ?" Nick asked, short breathed.

"She is. Is that what you wanted to show me ?"

The fox shook his head and waved her to follow him.

"I showed it to everyone in the department. Of course, Joan couldn't climb it, but I think she was tall enough to enjoy it anyway."

They rounded the tree to find a part of its barked that had been dug with grips and holds. "Did you do that ?"

"No, they were there long before I discovered it, during one of my patrols. I got lost and needed a high point to find my way back. Ladies first."

She nimbly climbed up, happy to discover that despite the few extra pounds, she was still able to carry her own weight. Then she dropped him a rope to help him make his way up. Not that the stubborn fox used it.

They were standing on what could be described as a platform. The tree separated itself in three main branches, twisted in such a way that it offered enough room to sit or even lie down, especially for small mammals.

"Hey look." Nick said, pointing toward the south.

On the horizon, the lights of Zootopia could be seen, shining brightly in the orange sunset light. "Woah. That's… Really beautiful."

Nick smirked. "It's more beautiful from afar, trust me. From here, it's only a fantasy, a jewel. I like that I can forget its reality."

"You don't really like the city, do you ?"

The fox snorted. "It hated me, beat me up, took me down, and then I saved it. Then it kept hating me, beating me up and taking me down. The only good thing I got from it was a way out. No, I don't really like it." He pointed to the west. "Now look in that direction."

Judy looked.

The sun rays reflected on the forest crown, giving it a red hue. The leaves were moving in the breeze, making the light dance with them. Sparks of ruby and topaze made it look ablaze, breathtaking to both mammals.

"Now that, Carrots, is beautiful." He said, his eyes resting on her for a bit before turning to where he had been pointing.

"It is." She whispered.

He let the silence linger, not wanting to break the spell.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did today."

She turned toward him. His eyes were still on the horizon, the coral light on his fur erasing the few greying spots. He looked like he was burning, and the bunny felt something in her chest, unfamiliar but warm and soothing. "So… Thank you. I don't have the words to tell you how much it means to me."

"I told you I had your back. I couldn't let him tear apart your family."

Nick kept his gaze riveted on the horizon. He couldn't answer. Something was caught in his throat, and the many words he wanted to say couldn't escape his lips.

He knew the department wouldn't replace her real family, and he didn't want it to. But to him, whether she decided to remain here for good or not, she'd always have a place at their side. She was part of the pack now, he had let her in, and he was glad for it.

The bunny leant against the fox, resting her head against his right shoulder, while he a put a paw on hers.

As the sun started disappearing under the horizon, casting his last rays of light, they were filled with a similar feeling, that warmed their chest and filled them with hope.

The weight of the years had been lifted from their shoulders.

 **The End**

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 _Sorry this story is really over, this wasn't a fake out._

 _I'd like to thank all of you for reading my story, and doubly so all the people that took the time to leave a review and a kind word. You filled my eternal need of validation._

 _Jk, it'll never be filled._

 _Oh, and if you have reviews/questions on this fic, and since I won't be able to answer any of them through the next chapter's note (since there won't be one), I'll answer through PM. Your messages aren't falling in the void._

 _On another matter, I'm already working on my next fic, by now it's already as long as this one, will probably be about twice longer (or even more, I'm still shit at estimating the length of my work before it's done)._

 _In any case, stay tuned, more is coming in the future ! (Might be in a month, might be in a year...)_


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